I made this table as a gift for a friend and custom sized it to fit into a small nook under a bay window. The piece is made entirely from reclaimed hardwood including the beautiful table top. Aside from the legs, which are definitely maple, I’m not sure of the species of the other pieces. I suspect the top is from a species of fruit tree, though that is only based on the vague similarities (smell and texture) to a sample of apple wood I have.
The table is supported by four legs arranged in a manner that works with the available space. The window nook is inset back from the surrounding wall, and then tapers in slightly before flattening out again. The angles and measurements were critical to the table fitting properly and I felt relieved when I saw the table finally fit into the space.
The frame was an interesting challenge for me to design. Three front legs support a span of almost 60 inches. left to right. The table is easily strong enough for somebody to sit on. This is typically a design requirement I keep in mind. If a piece of furniture is at or below waist height, at some point somebody will likely try to sit on it. The frame is one solid piece with the horizontal members tied into the legs using strong mortise and tenon joints.
I designed the build around the dimensions of the top. First I made sure the top was sized appropriately to fit into the nook space, then I decided how the frame would work to support it. (being careful to have the legs inset enough to avoid the baseboards) I made a sketch of the nook space and decided how the top would fit into that. The rest of the frame I improvised based on what looked good in the moment.
The table top came from an old bed frame a friend gifted to me. Initially I simply wanted to clean up the existing piece and use it as is. Soon I realized the wood was actually a faux cherry (?) finish over teak veneer, over a solid core of pale mystery wood. In the end I decided a lighter tone would be more fitting with the existing furniture my friend had. So I ran the whole piece through my planer to strip it back to the original finish.