You might say mid-century modern (MCM) furniture is having a moment, again. Social media platforms, like Instagram, are helping to drive the design trend's resurgence. From bespoke makers to thrifters hunting for period pieces to flip, and fashionable interior designers-clicking on one may cue the algorithm to deliver a deluge of content, relating to this nearly century-old design trend. If you've admired MCM from a distance but didn't know where to start with it, here is an opportunity to build a piece of your own.
This MCM-inspired coffee table was designed with cost, flexibility, and ease of construction in mind. The project uses simple joinery and common tools, so it doesn't require a lot of woodworking experience. The most important thing needed is patience-measure twice, cut once, as they say.
You can customize this coffee table in numerous ways. Swap out the species of wood, type of finish, or style of legs to suit your taste. You could even alter the dimensions to work better with the length or height of your sofa-the construction process remains the same. For our example, we chose clear pine boards to keep cost low. Traditional MCM furniture often uses teak, oak, or walnut, but you could also use poplar, which is reasonably hard and durable and won't break the bank.
GLUE UP
Create the top and bottom of the coffee table by cutting the three 7"-wide boards in half [1], giving you six 48"-long pieces. Select three with similar grain for the top. Follow the directions from the doweling jig kit for edge-joining both sets of three pieces. Use the 5/16" dowels and drill bit, and place the holes at 5", 14", 24", 34", and 43" [2]. Glue, clamp, and allow 24 hours to dry. Then carefully scrape off any excess glue [3] and sand to be sure all seams are flat.
TRIM PIECES TO FINAL DIMENSIONS
This story is from the September - October 2024 edition of Popular Mechanics US.
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This story is from the September - October 2024 edition of Popular Mechanics US.
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