A Coffee Table with a Difference | Full Woodworking Build Process

Originally, a friend asked me to design and build them an outdoor table. I put together an initial design featuring a slatted top to let rain drain through — but after seeing the first draft, they changed their mind and wanted a coffee table instead! We decided to carry over some elements of the original design, which led to building this slatted coffee table. A full slatted top didn’t seem ideal for everyday use, so I designed the table with just the middle third made of slats, keeping the rest solid timber. This introduced a few tricky decisions, particularly around grain direction — the grain needed to run across the short edge of the table (unusual for tabletops) to keep the slats strong enough. I'm really happy with how it turned out — definitely a challenging but fun build. The table is made from messmate (Eucalyptus obliqua) hardwood and finished with hardwax oil. Most of the joinery is done with dominoes, but you could easily swap these for dowels or traditional mortise and t