I want a dining table with a cubby -- like a school desk

That's a cool table!

I don't really need extra storage. Our dining room table doubles for everything so there are always papers and books stacked on it. An open cubby would actually get used..... I think. I would at least allow me to clear the table off for dinner without losing anyone's "important" doodles and notes.

I don't want drawers though.

Yeah.... cubbies could present some technical problems and some keeping them clean problems but I just know that for us they'd be used where drawers will not.

That Helix table is beautiful! I love well made things.

The Joinery (www.thejoinery.com) is just a half mile from my house. All their furniture is made by hand, on site, by craftsmen. I wish I could afford their furniture.

I wonder if I wandered in there with my idea if they could tell me if it was technically possible to make such a thing even though there's no way I could afford to have them make it.

How long-term do you think your need for cubbies under your dining table surface will be? I'd factor that in when I was assessing the cost of a special-use piece of furniture.

I'm hoping both me and Mr. B live for another 30 years or so.

I hope for the same.

I'm a bit older than you are and I'm starting to think about down-sizing in some areas. It could well be that it's on my mind a lot more than usual since hamburger just moved to a retirement home, but a number of friends who are in their early 60's are now starting to make plans where new, large pieces of furniture would be nice - but aren't worth the investment for 2 - 10 years of use.

IKEA has a kitchen island you could use..
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00116996

This one extends quite nicely
http://www.blacklion.com/store/products.php?product=Hooker-Flip-Top-Extension-Table-with-Drawers

or look for some bakers tables - that's on my wish list...

I didn't know that about hamburger. I hope it was a decision that you are all happy and comfortable with. He has always been one of my favorite people that I've known online. I confess to being a bit jealous of you for having him (and vice versa). Please send him my love.

I do know what you mean.... aging changes your decisions. I often think "this is the last one I ever want to buy" and I do consider whether it has lasting value because I don't want to have to replace it. Even if Mo doesn't want "it" I hope that he can make some money off of it when we're gone. I'm willing to spend a bit more, to get less these days. I've been getting rid of tons of stuff that has value only to me.

I know when me and Mr. B redo things in the house we "joke" about whether it will eventually accommodate our wheelchairs, etc.

The Ikea thing wouldn't work because you can't slide chairs underneath it.

I too crave a baker's bench. When we remodel the kitchen that's on my list.

I LOVE that blacklion table! If it just had a little shelf instead of drawers it would be perfect. Maybe I'll print out a photo of that contraption if I go talk to the neighborhood furniture makers.

I had an artist friend (who died around a dozen years ago at a moderately young age) who had made some of the furniture in his and his wife's house. In his case, a lot of his art pieces (that sold for great bunches of money) were painted after he carefully prepared large pieces of thick Finnish plywood (not finish plywood). This involved a lot of sandings. For the paintings, he then also use coats of gesso or some other substance; for the furniture, he used a very particular varnish, nothing I'd ever heard of before. Meticulous guy. The furniture was simple but beautiful.. so what I'm wondering, given you have access to good wood (don't you? and I don't mean necessarily the kind of wood he used) if you and Mr. B are crafty, maybe you could work up a design and then do it yourselves.. maybe even make a "model" first. Lot of work though..

That's what I love about artists -- nothing is impossible. In my next life I want to be an artist with the competence to build the things I dream up.

My ideas are usually met with sighs and eye- rolls from Mr. B and the few others I know who I think that the competence to carry them out. But usually the ideas are seen as a challenge and they're secretly worked on.

Back when I had the studio I found this shop in the industrial area that sold "retail supplies". One of the men who worked there was so cool. I would go in and say "I need a thing... this big.... that will do this... and looks like that... and will do this specific thing for me...." and he would sigh and roll his eyes and and tell me they didn't have anything like that and few weeks later he'd call me down to have a look at the perfect thing he'd made for me. He'd charge me for the parts he used to make it.

Mr. B is like that too. But since we're married I have to endure two weeks of sighs and eye rolls and wishing I'd never had a single idea in my life.

But back to your comment. I have no doubt that Mr. B could build it but it would cost me double with experimentation.

But I would probably love it double.

That's half of how I approach hardware stores, especially the old fashioned ones with good old lumber yards.. not that I construct anything anymore..

Ha! Me too.

Because sometimes you need a "thing" that does "that".

NapaStyle has this one, which is really a kitchen island:

http://www.napastyle.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=4837&parentCategoryId=520&categoryId=644&subCategoryId=905

something similar to this?

They also offer this:

http://www.napastyle.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=4512&parentCategoryId=520&categoryId=644&subCategoryId=905

also at Napastyle



close-ish

I wouldn't mind the villa that the table is in!

I'm imagining something more like a one piece top, say 4 x 6 ( 7?) feet , with a smaller piece under it - say, 3 x 5 feet - held on to the top piece by a series of 2 x 4s (or possibly 2 x 6's) going cross wise so 3 feet long, and have blocks within it (1x's?) so that items wouldn't go all the way under. How many 3 foot 2x 4's would depend on how one would want the space divided. All open on the long sides to the persons sitting at the benches or chairs. Table legs and connections between them to be developed - and likely attached to the lower shelf system too.

Obviously I made this up in a few minutes, just playing with how such a thing could look.

I should look at links already mentioned.

You've mentioned that a few possibilities would be perfect if they had cubbies instead of drawers -- why not just take out the drawers?