Variations on a Side Table

This small side table is one of my favourites and one of my best sellers. It is useful as a bedside table or as an occasional table beside a sofa. Although the design is deceptively simple, there are a large number of design variations which can be used to make it look more traditional or more contemporary.

It can be of solid wood or veneer covered plywood construction and can be made with or without a drawer or shelves. The top can be solid wood or a veneered panel with solid wood edging. The veneered panel could even incorporate marquetry or parquetry designs.

Species and sawn sections

Here I’ll show how to make one in solid Tasmanian blackwood but I’ve also made this design in southern mountain ash, New Guinea rosewood, American ash, Queensland maple and cedar. Other possibilities are cherry and walnut.

When selecting material remember that you do not want highly figured material for the legs and the aprons.

Rather we are looking for rift sawn material for the legs and either rift or quartersawn for the aprons.

When possible I like to buy timber in 50mm thicknesses and 150mm or greater widths. This allows me the best chance to get rift sawn material for the legs () with near vertical lines running down each face of the leg. Ripping a 150 x 50mm board on the bandsaw to give 30mm leg blanks allows me