Undulating Wooden Ribbon Glass Top Coffee Tables

About The Project

These tables are simple undulating curves of wood. The goal was to make the wood look like a banner fluttering in the wind. The main form is a gentle S-shape, highlighted by a curled and rippling end. In addition to curving along the S-shape, the wood also bows in and out vertically. I’ve made three versions of the ribbon table, two in mahogany and one in ash.

The construction technique is coopering, which is how wine barrels are made. Individual staves (pieces of wood) are stood on end and glued together at their edges. Unlike barrels though, the ribbon’s form is not an even circle. The direction of the curve and the vertical pitch of staves change. The angle of the edge to the face controls which direction the ribbon curls. The degree of trapezoidal shape of the stave controls the degree of stave tilt. This makes for complicated yet freeform construction.

I first draw out the desired curve form on a sheet of cardboard. This is used as a rough guideline as I built the ribbon a few staves at a time. I cut the edge angles and trapezoid shapes for a couple of pieces at a time. Trial and error is used to make adjustments. When I’m satisfied with the resulting curve, I glue these staves together. I keep adding a stave or two at a time until the ribbon is complete.

Once the staves are glued together the curves are formed and smoothed with a variety of hand tools. This is a very labor intensive and knuckle busting process. The glass tops rest on the ribbons without any physical connectors; their weight is enough to hold them in place.

Mahogany Ribbon Table

Ash Ribbon Table