July 6, 2009. Western Head, N.S. Coffee Table.

It has taken three years in the making, but now my new coffee table sits in the middle of the living room for all to admire. David Nickerson made it out of Birdseye maple and cherry wood. It is a replica of a table we found in a book of antique furniture from Canada, specifically Eastern Canada. The table was first made in the early eighteenth Century, and now a copy resides in my living room. Actually, we kind of changed the dimensions and transformed it from a dining room table into a coffee table so it looks a bit like the original in miniature. But it is a lovely table and David is proud of his work. He is such a skilled cabinet maker but he is so slow and meticulous that he can barely make a living at carpentry. I have three pieces of furniture he has made for me, all replicas of antique furniture copied from a book. Now he will repair an old table that I use when our dining table is too small, and I have chosen two small end tables from the same book that he will build next. I expect them to be finished in three years.

Gill first asked David to make her a dining table out of birch and she gave him the dimensions for the table she wanted. He thought the proportions were too long so he made s shorter table. It looks lovely and does fit the space, but we entertain each other all the time and her table only seats twelve, so five years ago, she commissioned David to make a drop leaf table that would extend her table for large crowds. David was very slow to get started because he did not really understand the concept. Three years ago, I took the book to David, along with pages and dimensions, for the three tables I wanted made for me. He was excited to make the tables because it takes ingenuity in order to figure the whole thing out. Gill was with me and we both made it clear to David that Gill's table comes first, followed by my coffee table and end tables. Finally, the table for Gill was completed last fall, so David has been working on my table ever since. Now it sits in my living room in all it's splendour. Now, I wonder how long it will take us to fill the top with books and magazines. Soon we'll only be able to see the legs and stools. Oh yes, in addition to the table, he made four stools that fit under the table to be used by the little ones. I am very pleased with the new table.