A dream coffee table from leftover materials
We built a coffee table from two scraps of marble and a pile of art books. Here's how — and why it's better than a new one.
We needed a new coffee table. We didn't need yet another piece of furniture made somewhere far away and shipped in a box.
So we built one ourselves. The materials were simple: two off-cuts of Italian marble from a stonemason in Copenhagen, and a stack of old art books as legs. That's it. It took an afternoon.
Why it works Off-cut marble costs a fraction of a full slab — stonemasons need to get rid of it anyway. The books give a height that's exactly right for a sofa, and you can adjust by taking a book out or putting one in.
What we learned Put a small piece of felt between the books and the marble. It protects the surface and keeps the slab perfectly still. Use the same size books on each end — otherwise it tips.
It's not a piece of furniture. It's a handwritten answer to a perfectly ordinary problem.
