Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with coffeetable

I wrote a book... but I only had a copy for me...

Madamina — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:03:26 -0800

I have this amazing idea for a book that has never been done before and will sell like hotcakes. (No, seriously!) But I have absolutely no idea where to start. What do I do? I am very into local history, and I am astounded -- ASTOUNDED! -- that nobody has ever written a book about Local Phenomenon X. (Sorry to be so coy; I know it's annoying. I'm doing it anyway.)

For the purpose of explanation, let's say that I'm talking about the Empire State Building: you look at it and say, "You're kidding me, right? Surely people have written SOMETHING! I mean, it's the fricking Empire State Building!" Maybe people haven't written about it because it's too big of a subject, or they assume it's been done. Whatever the case, I know that there's nothing out there. Maybe a few historical booklets, but nothing of substance.

The thing about writing a book about the not-Empire State Building is that it could be so awesome. I have access to a huge repository of photos and stories, both in historical archives and from tourists. It's a beloved physical landmark with a great history, but people also have really strong feelings about it: working there, being tourists, the way it looks, what it means to the city, rumors, legends, you name it.

And that's just it. I know it could be a beautiful coffee table book, or even a bigger book with stories and a Website and and and... where do I begin? How do I focus my idea? I have ideas for the divisions (history, famous people who have been there, a tour of the area) but I want to make sure it's not too much of an overload.

(Also, I have ADD. Ooh, is that Julie Andrews over there?)

Things I have on my side:
--I've seen this thread.
--I am a writer and media professional, so even if I don't do it myself I can give it to someone who is good.
--I know the perfect people to get involved with it; one is a great photographer and the other has been involved with Local Phenomenon X for many years. They're young, but they've written a somewhat-similar book that is getting good press.
--People in my area will buy it, no doubt. I'm not concerned about making money, but I could price it really high and they'd still buy it. This is a huge nostalgia item.
--I work for the university and, as I've said, have access to all sorts of public information, experts and the historical society archives.
--My dad has written multiple books (coffee table and nonfiction) and operated his own publishing company, so I know he could be realistic with me about what has to happen.
--I have many contacts at our university press, who would probably publish it (or at least tell me where else I could take the idea).

Am I crazy?

Find me inspiring books!

actionpact — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 15:22:33 -0800

I'm trying to expand my reference library. What are your favorite inspiring books (the kinds with photos/artwork in them?) Basically, I'm looking for any books that have good reference material in them-- not so much the text (though I like reading), but ones that show interesting images to use to inspire me when I can't think of what to draw. (National Geographic came in handy for this as a kid) I don't get to travel a lot but I love to peruse books, so I thought why not find some good sources?

Books with old advertisements, design, patterns, motifs and artwork from indigenous worlds, sci-fi, photos of houses and environments, costume design, books about nature and animals, space, historical photos, underwater photography, the topic doesn't matter specifically, just whatever you have or would recommend I'm super-curious to find out about. Coffee-table books, old books, whatever!

As an example, I have books like these:
Manuel Manilla
The Golden Age of Advertising-the 60's

and am thinking about getting these:
Chasing Rickshaws (I found this in a library and it was great!)
Little House on a Small Planet

Thanks hivemind!

How to turn a glass-top coffee table into a tile-top coffee table?

melissa — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 12:17:10 -0800

I have a glass-top wood coffee table with a broken glass top. Instead of replacing the glass, I'd like to turn it into a tile top coffee table. Since the glass is broken, what kind of backing should I glue the tiles to? The coffee table has a lip that holds the glass in place and has a wood reinforcement beam in the middle, so I shouldn't have sagging issues with the right backing. This is an table that is only used inside.

Any other advice on how to make this project a success is welcome. I don't plan to go too fancy - just regular tiles in alternating colours. I've done a very little bit of tiling in my bathroom, so I understand the basics of tiling, but I'd love to hear about your experience with similar projects. Thanks!

Searching for a Coffee Table

natalie b — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 09:45:51 -0800

I am shopping for a new coffee table and found this one at Crate and Barrel. It's a black aluminum frame with with slots for 8 large tiles. You can buy the frame without the tiles and supply your own. I'm looking for others like it. I really like the concept of customizing the table with my own tiles. Since it's for an indoor space, I don't need a rustproof frame - something in wood or another, lighter material might even be better.

I've tried googling, but I keep ending up finding mosaic inlaid tables which isn't what I want.

Anyone know where I can find some other tables like this one? Thanks.

Can you identify this table?

dobbs — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 23:17:22 -0800

So I just bought this table. The seller says the designer is possibly Kurt Østervig. I'm looking for more definitive info (designer/year/model name/whatever) and am wondering if any MeFites can help. Know anything about it? Thanks!

Adjustable Coffee Table?

Witty — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 08:16:38 -0800

STUDIO APARTMENT DWELLERS... front and center, please. I have a coffee table question. Has anyone ever seen or purchased a table that can double as a coffee table and an dining table... meaning, you can raise the height to which one could actually sit and eat like a normal person?

Preferrably, I'm not looking for something terribly complicated or that may require additional parts. I'm envisioning a table that you can grab at either end and lift until it "clicks" in at its new height. Then, to lower it, grab the ends again, squeeze the little hand-clip-thing underneath and drop it down to be a coffee table again.

Form is as important as function here, as I'm not looking to put something in my "living area" that looks like it would be better suited for a garage or a workshop.

Ideas? Thanks!

I need help making my own glass coffee table!

autojack — Sun, 19 Feb 2006 20:08:58 -0800

I need some construction suggestions for making a glass-topped coffee table. I recently bought some speakers from a friend which turned out to be white van speakers. They sound pretty bad, but I didn't figure this out until I got them home. My friend is moving out of the country and basically needs to be rid of these, so I was trying to think of what else I could do with them (we renegotiated the price to 1/3 of what I paid him, so that's good). I realized that they would make a cool looking base for a coffee table. I'm really into music, and this would actually mesh with the rock-art theme of my apartment.

The cabinets are 27" tall and 15" wide. They have 12" woofers and smaller mids and tweeters, as well as gain knobs for high and low frequencies. They look pretty fancy... too bad they sound like crap. My idea is to lay them on their backs, with the drivers facing up, and then put a piece of glass over them. The cabinets have holes in them at their corners where the covers snap in, so I'm thinking that I will cut some dowels to fit into those holes and hold the glass a few inches above the speakers themselves. I don't plan to have the speakers hooked up at all.

I guess I have three basic questions:

1. Where can I get glass for the tabletop? I'm in San Francisco, if you know of a local place. Are there special kinds of glass that I should use for this purpose? Maybe something stronger/thicker than window glass? Can I get the edges beveled in some way to add a decorative flourish?
2. How can I keep the glass from sliding around? Since I'm not envisioning having anything to hold the glass at its edges, it seems like I would want to anchor it to the dowels somehow. I've thought of putting a rubber non-skid pad on the tips of the dowels, gluing the dowels to the glass somehow, or even having very small holes drilled in the glass, and then using small nails sticking out of the dowels to hold it in place.
3. Anything else I should know about? I've never tried to build anything like this before, but I think it'll be pretty cool if I can pull it off!

How to build a coffee table with coasters?

TunnelArmr — Mon, 21 Nov 2005 09:35:00 -0800

FurnitureFilter: I have a big collection of beer coasters, and I want to take some of the cooler ones and incorporate them into a coffee table. Any ideas? (More inside) I want to make a coffee table where the top surface is glass, and the coasters are in a sort of collage underneath it, probably with some kind of wood or other opaque backing underneath them. I've looked at a lot of pre-existing glass tables to see if I could alter them to add the layers but it doesn't look feasible. Any ideas where I can find a good table for this or instructions on building one from scratch?