Table for Feets and Coffee

I once had a girlfriend, years ago, who scoffed when I told her I wanted to have my house full of furniture I had made. I think she was worried that she would live in a house with ugly and possibly dangerous furniture. She did have a valid reason to think this — I had never made a piece of furniture in my life.

A while back I acquired a stereo cabinet my father made when he was young and it got me thinking of this cabinet’s unique story. It began in my father’s apartments in his 20’s, then in his house when he married my mom, this cabinet was there to greet me when I was born, then it sat in my grandparents’ entry room throughout most of my childhood. And now it sits in my living room, a small part of my father’s legacy that will outlast him and eventually outlast me.

How amazing it is to create something out of so little? And not just create, but create art that is functional? How many drinks will sit on my table? How many card games will be played on top of it through its lifetime? How many amazing conversations will be had around it? As I sit with my feet propped up on it, I dream of the travels it shall have, with and without me. And I smile.

This entry is part of 2012’s Project 365 – A Creative Thing a Week.