There is something beautiful about the rhythm of hand tools and the careful, methodical pace of building fine furniture. There are also some times when you just need to make a thing that fills a purpose without all the romance.

A while back, my wife decided she was going to turn an old shed porch behind our house into a relaxing retreat to sit, have a cup of coffee and read a book. This is the kind of thing you need when you have three kids. The shed itself needed a coat of paint, but what really makes a little spot relaxing are the details.

We put some strings of lights on the ceiling, added a ceiling fan and a few chairs, but we still needed a good place to sit a couple cups of coffee.

You can buy coffee tables. I know that. But the maker in me always springs to life when a need like this presents itself. I had an old sheet metal base from a fire pit that rusted through, and a couple of 2 x 6’s in the workshop, so I got to work cutting and joining the boards into 32″ square panel.

I cut a circle out of the panel and cleaned the edges up with a drawknife and spokeshave.

A few coats of stain and acrylic clear coat (it’s outdoor furniture after all) and it was ready to go.

I made some white oak table buttons to join the top to the base and voila.

For a quick little project I’m pretty happy how this came out. Although, it’s pretty clear that we still need a rug to tie the room together.