Curly Maple Night Tables

I made this pair of night tables a few years ago for use in the master bedroom in our home. The tabletops are curly western maple (big-leaf maple) milled from a tree that grew here on Vancouver Island. The legs and lower shelf are eastern black cherry. As is normal, the cherry has darkened a little bit over the past few years and forms a nice contrast to the curly maple tabletop.

The joinery is simple, with mortises and tenons joining the legs to the upper rails and stretchers. The lower shelf is contained within a groove cut into the stretchers, and this allows the solid-wood cherry shelf to expand and contract as the humidity changes with the seasons. Similarly, the solid-wood tabletop is fastened to the cherry stand using hardware that allows the tabletop to expand and contract.

The last photo shows my burl table lamps which we use in the bedroom on these night tables. The burls form a nice contrast to the curly maple tabletop.

The tables are 16″ by 21″ and 24″ high, and are finished with 3 coats of OSMO Polyx®-Oil.