The client came to us with her own design for a coffee table. She wanted to utilize lift hardware for when her husband wants to eat at the couch, to bring the food closer in (she didn't tell us if spilling has been an issue, but we assumed!). The design is really nice. One side has a waterfall edge and the other a black steel leg. There is 4" of storage on the inside. The entire piece is made of solid walnut, with no screws or nails, and has a lacquer spray finish for stain protection because it is a dining surface.
The lift hardware can lift the piece as tall and the lift hardware is long.This means if you have an 11" area, your lift hardware can be 11" long, and your wood top will lift up 11". Since she wanted more surface area on the side facing the couch, that side can lift 11" and the other side lifts 8". In theory, if someone was seated there, they'd be on a beanbag or on their knees, so they wouldn't need the plate to be lifted as high. That side is most likely for magazines and remote controls anyways.
There was a lot of collaboration in the design of this piece to get every detail right. Sometimes you can't foresee everything at the design phase so it's important to have a good relationship with the client or designer and open communication.
Here's another walnut coffee table we made:
https://www.cannonhillwood.com/photos/walnut-coffee-table-set-black-base
If you've been toying with the idea of creating your own completely unique furniture piece, and you want to be very involved in the design process, but with the help and guidance of furniture design/build professionals, please reach out. We work closely with our clients and designs on completely custom and unique furniture pieces. Every detail is covered. Call us at 857-576-2089 or email us at info@cannonhillwood.com