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Furniture builder makes fully functional wooden NES controller coffee table

Furniture builder makes fully functional wooden NES controller coffee table
Charles Lushear has designed and built a coffee table that resembles a Nintendo Entertainment System controller, with buttons and a joypad that can actually control onscreen gaming action
Charles Lushear has designed and built a coffee table that resembles a Nintendo Entertainment System controller, with buttons and a joypad that can actually control onscreen gaming action
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When not being used to control the onscreen action of favored NES classics like Super Mario, the table's huge wooden four-way directional pad and action buttons sit underneath a removable glass top
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When not being used to control the onscreen action of favored NES classics like Super Mario, the table's huge wooden four-way directional pad and action buttons sit underneath a removable glass top
Rather than reproduce the black, gray and red coloring plastic original, Lushear has instead opted for the natural tones of maple, mahogany and walnut
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Rather than reproduce the black, gray and red coloring plastic original, Lushear has instead opted for the natural tones of maple, mahogany and walnut
The table features a huge wooden four-way directional pad, Start, Select and action buttons
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The table features a huge wooden four-way directional pad, Start, Select and action buttons
Charles Lushear has designed and built a coffee table that resembles a Nintendo Entertainment System controller, with buttons and a joypad that can actually control onscreen gaming action
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Charles Lushear has designed and built a coffee table that resembles a Nintendo Entertainment System controller, with buttons and a joypad that can actually control onscreen gaming action
Charles Lushear controlling the action of an 8-bit classic using his coffee table
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Charles Lushear controlling the action of an 8-bit classic using his coffee table
An original NES controller from the mid 1980s
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An original NES controller from the mid 1980s
Charles Lushear with an original NES controller and his supersized, fully operational Nintendo Controller Coffee Table
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Charles Lushear with an original NES controller and his supersized, fully operational Nintendo Controller Coffee Table
The table features a retractable cord underneath
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The table features a retractable cord underneath
The normally hidden hardware of the Nintendo Controller Coffee Table
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The normally hidden hardware of the Nintendo Controller Coffee Table
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Being lovers of style, comfort and technology, you've doubtless already decked your living room out with a multimedia sofa and a recliner with a built-in sound system. Perhaps you've even gone to the trouble of hiding your plasma TV behind a nice art print or surrounding it in a home-theater-like frame. If you're now a tad underwhelmed by that functional, but otherwise rather dull, coffee table, then we may have something to bring a smile to your face. Furniture maker Charles Lushear has supersized the brick-like controller from Nintendo's iconic 8-bit gaming system launched in the mid-1980s, swapped the cold plastic for the elegance of wood and positioned some mid 20th century legs underneath to make a fully operational Nintendo Controller Coffee Table.

While it's certainly true that there have been a number of both functional and aesthetic NES controller coffee tables built over the last few years, Lushear's creation is a little different from the rest. Rather than reproduce the black, gray and red coloring of the 4.92 x 2.17 x 0.67-inch (12.49 x 5.5 x 1.7 cm) plastic original, the instrument and furniture maker has instead opted for the natural tones of maple, mahogany and walnut woods used in the construction of his guaranteed conversation piece. The retractable cord and dovetail joinery are also nice touches.

Charles Lushear controlling the action of an 8-bit classic using his coffee table
Charles Lushear controlling the action of an 8-bit classic using his coffee table

When not being used to control the onscreen action of favored NES classics like Super Mario, the table's huge wooden four-way directional pad and action buttons sit underneath a removable glass top.

Four versions of the 42 x 18.25 x 18-inch (106.68 x 46.35 x 45.72 cm) Nintendo Controller Coffee Table have been designed to suit various tastes and budgets, including a non-functional version. USB compatibility can also be added and Lushear says that he's currently looking into making the controller compatible with the Wii console, for those who don't happen to own an NES gaming system.

The table is priced at US$3,500, although the first creation has been bought by DudeIWantThat.com and is currently being raffled off to readers of the curiosity site. There's an estimated build time of between 4-6 weeks on the construction of new built-to-order coffee tables.

Source: The Bohemian Workbench

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1 comment
1 comment
Michael Mantion
Good lucky getting the extra lives in Contra.. Up, up, down, down, left right left right.....