TV Tray Redux is Complete

TV Tray in Use

     Here is the culmination of the Design Process blog that some of you have been following.  It's been a while since we began this series on September 30th. but in the mean time I also completed a birthday present for my grandson and new studio furniture for Diane.  Things like that really don't matter because for me everything keeps rolling around in my head on how to solve design and construction problems.  In my opinion, these tables solve the problem of having a tray that can be used for eating or holding drinks and snacks for a get together with friends but yet be attractive when they are not in use.  You may remember the old TV trays, plastic, brass, and phony wood tops that you had to hide in the closet.  They only came out when needed.  This set, on the other hand, looks good just sitting there!

Waiting to be Used

     The design I was after was to have the three of them make a statement when they're together.  They can be arranged as shown, with the widest end out, or reversed with the shorter end out.  This would depend on where you keep them.  In this case they are tucked into a curved wall in our house.
     One design element that needed to be addressed is that when they are not in use, I didn't want a "sea of legs" as Diane put it.  That's the reason for going with only three legs per table.  The prototypes seemed to work and now that we've used them they are very stable.  When you look at them straight on you're not overwhelmed by that sea of legs!
   
To me, the tables have a sense of movement.  Angling the legs out not only added stability but also some life.  The legs taper towards the bottom and their face is beveled as well.  Small, subtle features like this is what gives them life and movement.

It's all about the Wood

For me, my design process is centered around the wood.  Black Walnut was used for the frame and the legs.  The inset tops are Zebrawood which was resawn and then book matched.  In my designs I like joinery details to show.  In this case, the leg tenons go through the top and are splined with maple to mimic the coloration of the Zebrawood.