AlphaAlpha: DIY Nakashima Table Inspiration..

OK, so most of you design-obsessed out there (like us!) have heard of the design world icon George Nakashima, designer and craftsman of beautiful free-formed, hand made wood furniture. Where most furniture and design is created by the designer, their approach is to allow the beauty of the grain and form and shape of the wood pieces available dictate the design of the piece... truly revolutionary. And creates a beautiful relationship between designer and material in a time of mass production when everything looks the same. The result is a piece of furniture that is equal parts form and function - art and everyday usable furniture, aaahmazing. His studios are still up and running to this day, headed up by his daughter, Mira, in New Hope, PA..it's a must-visit-before-i-die kind of place, truly inspiring just to walk around the grounds and explore the studios.

Original Nakashima Trestle Table, 1965, via here

Orig Minguren III Dining Table from '78..via here

Now, if you've heard of Nakashima, you must also be familiar with the price of his pieces...crazy and wayyyyyyyy out of our budget! And now that we're hopefully moving to a bigger place, I dream of my own Nakashima-esque dining table in our apartment, and there's some great stuff out there..but we want it to be unique! and hand made! and CHEAP!!! CB2's Dylan Dining table is a great option just sooo.. CB2...so...that said, here's our inspiration combining Nakashimaness + CB2ness..and a fun idea we're psyched to try out soon and let you know how it turns out...

TheLumberShack on Etsy is an amazing shop with gorgeous free-form wood pieces sold as a matched pair as a "DIY Table Top", finished or unfinished, assembled or unassembled, ready for you to do with them what you please! They offer coffee table top sizes, bench sizes, dining table sizes, and custom as well! the possibilities are endless! This pair is giving me heart palpitations as we speak...and what about legs you say? We're loving hairpin, and they're so inexpensive!! Just a quick google search and we came up with a few good options...namely Ian MacLean, but there are etsy shops out there who sell them as well, among other online retailers. So...