Build a Table: A Step-by-Step Guide to DIY Furniture

Follow these step-by-step instructions to build a table inspired by Scandinavian designs with copper material from your local hardware store.

article image
by Christopher Stuart

The following excerpt on copper tables was taken from DIY Furniture (Laurence King Publishing, 2011) by Christopher Stuart. Stuartfeatures 30 designs by leading designer-makers from around the world. Each start-to-finish guide to DIY furniture shows you how to easily assemble furniture from common materials. Follow this step-by-step guide to building your own stylish side table.


This side table grew out of Paul Loebach’s Himmeli lighting collection, in which the lights are constructed using tied aluminum tubes. The lights were originally inspired by traditional Scandinavian Christmas crafts made of tied straws. These tied-straw crafts are found in many other countries too.

From this tradition comes the Ultra-Conductive Table. The table was originally designed for a special exhibition ‘McMasterpieces’ in New York City, in which every object in the show was to be made from raw parts ordered from the American classic McMaster-Carr hardware catalogue. The design’s strong structural framework relies on the basic kjkn which the negative space of each intersection of tubes forms a triangle. This triangular structure gives the table a crystalline appearance that plays off the shiny copper material and creates a surprisingly strong and stable form.

You will need:

  • Published on May 9, 2013
Tagged with: copper, copper tubing, glass, table
Comments (0) Join others in the discussion!
    Online Store Logo
    Need Help? Call 1-800-234-3368