Awesome Furniture

Arcade machines are lots of fun, but they aren’t typically living room friendly. Bob from I Like to Make Stuff shows off a piece of furniture that combines a storage unit with a Raspberry Pi arcade, and four sets of arcade controls in a hidden, slide-out shelf. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can buy the plans to build your own.

This convertible coffee table features not one but two liftable sections. The larger one is ideal for a laptop, while the smaller one is great for enjoying a cup of coffee. It’s also got storage space under its lids, a shelf, and two drawers to help keep you organized. Available in light grey, espresso, black, and brown finishes.

The Edge Desk provides a back and body-friendly workspace different from standing desks. Its angled seat and leg pads put you in a comfortable kneeling position while you work, relieving both back and neck pain. The angle of its work surface is fully adjustable, and the desk folds up small enough to store under a couch.

Wyrwood’s gaming tables come in various sizes and with modular accessories for versatility. Use the top layer as a dining table, then remove its sections to access a felt playing surface for tabletop gaming, jigsaw puzzles, or other hobbies. Use the table configurator to spec yours in one of 12 woods, and rectangular or hex designs.

Backyard Resin creates bold and dramatic wood tables with inlays of colored resin, small objects, and artwork. Their Nintendo Switch coffee table is CNC-cut from walnut with colorful resin-filled Joy-Cons, and custom airbrushed artwork based Mario Kart. They also make a Game Boy table with Donkey Kong artwork.

Known for its electronic music gear, Teenage Engineering has applied its minimal approach to furniture. This lightweight desk has recycled aluminum rails and a double-sided Formica birch ply work surface. It measures 47″ W x 30.3″ D x 29.5″ H, and you can attach accessories using m5 screws. (Side tray not included.)

Saint-Hyacinthe, Canada’s CurlyWoods makes these distinctive and substantial nightstands with a fiberglass-reinforced concrete body, a wood base, and live-edge wood drawer with smooth drawer glides. They come in three sizes – in black walnut, cherry, maple, or white oak. Get a 10% discount when ordering two or more.

Humanscale’s award-winning Trea chair by designer Todd Bracher is a masterclass in form-meets-function. Inspired by a lobster’s exoskeleton, it cradles the sitter in a supportive shell while its mechanism allows parts to move in harmony with the body without manual settings. Available in three leg variants.

This slick computer desk is ideal for PC gamers with its stealthy black metal surface and legs. Its 59.1″ x 27.6″ desktop is large enough for multiple monitors and has plenty of room for mousing. It includes a covered cable management tray, and can be upgraded with RGB lighting, a magnetic desk mat, and other accessories.

If you’ve visited a Costco lately, you might have seen some chairs made from Polywood, a durable material produced by chopping up and melting down plastic, then extruding it into a weight-bearing and weatherproof lumber for making furniture. Popular Mechanics takes us inside the Polywood factory to see how they do it.

Built for workshops and garages, Vyper chairs are designed for durability. They’re made in America and offer steel or aluminum frames, casters that roll over just about anything, and comfy padded seats. The chairs come in short and tall models, with or without backs. Add-ons include drink/parts and tool holders.

Ben from Woby Design has made some pretty amazing stuff out of skateboard decks. His latest build is a round tabletop made from skateboard decks arranged on end and cut into wedges. He also wrapped its cylindrical plywood base with colorful deck slices. The way the CNC machine cut it into a perfect circle was so satisfying.

Woodworker Ryan Hawkins shows us the time-consuming and laborious process that went into building a truly stunning piece of furniture. He built the 24″ x 48″ coffee table from maple, cherry, and walnut wood, incorporating a herringbone pattern into its top, inspired by a design from cutting board artist MTMWood.

CustomBigCartel makes wooden sofa tables that look like giant sneaker boxes. Their lids open up to reveal a large, illuminated storage area that’s perfect for holding shoes but also works for other items. They all come with Nike or Air Jordan logos and are available in 6-pair and 12-pair sizes.

Placing a one-way mirror in front of a regular mirror can create an infinite reflection illusion. It’s typically used to make glitzy disco-style lighting, but in this video from Wiz’s Woodwork, he shows us how to use the effect to make it look like his coffee table leads down a very long mine shaft.

The CyberOne is an adjustable standing desk for gamers. It adjusts 29″ to 47″ tall and has dual pull-out drawers, USB/USB-C ports, a wireless charger, and cable management. The upgraded Plus and Pro models add features like a perforated backboard, a storage bin with a cup holder, LED lighting, and a tower PC bracket.

Since the start of the pandemic, the world has been using huge amounts of personal protective equipment. The Brothers Make teamed up with recycler ReWorked to see what they could do with the plastic found in disposable face masks. They melted and extruded the resulting polypropylene granules into the parts for a park bench.

Makers Simone Giertz and Laura Kampf teamed up to release Build Dice – a fun gift item to inspire creativity through randomization. After giving the dice a few rolls, they decided to build a chair by recycling an old satellite dish. They cut and folded the metal to form a seat, then gave it hardwood arms and legs.

Massage chairs are great, but their look is more suited to a salon than your living room. The Nouhaus massage chair looks like a piece of high-end furniture. The curvy swivel chair offers percussive, rolling, and kneading massages, and has built-in speakers. It’s made with real leather and comes with a matching ottoman.

This oversize lap desk opens up a serious workspace while you sit on the couch or in bed. It has a vented spot for up to a 17″ laptop, along with a large mousepad, built-in wrist pads, a tablet holder, and pockets for your mouse and other accessories. Its padded armrests provide support and comfort and can be repositioned.

This unique furniture piece from Axes and Hose Co. is a great gift for a firefighter or anyone who appreciates our selfless first-responders. Each bench is handmade from wood, wrapped in recycled fire hoses woven to form its seat. We particularly appreciate the Thin Red Line design. Measures 40.5″ L x 20.5″ W x 20″ H.

Brad from Fix This Build That shows how he fabricated a coffee table that’s great parties. He built the table from cedar and MDF, and it packs a beer cooler, Bluetooth speakers, and recessed LED lights that animate to the beat of the music. He had a few challenges along the way, but the end result looks great.

CleverMade’s folding wood chair offers a comfy spot for relaxing anywhere, and sits at a leisurely angle for chilling out or gazing at the stars. It’s made from sustainable acacia wood and folds nearly flat, so you can easily store it under a bed or behind another piece of furniture. Holds up to 250 lbs.