Fold-up plywood kitchen table with stacking stools for a tiny room

Nov 14, 2026 Last reply: 4 hours ago 2 Replies
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The problem here is one plenty of us know: getting a proper table for four into a kitchen of just 6 square meters. Aribabox solved it with a fold-up plywood table plus four matching stools, and the whole package ends up squeezed between the wall and the refrigerator. That is a tight spot, and the design makes the most of it.



Everything was cut on a gantry-style CNC router fitted with a Makita router and dust extraction, running a 3 mm straight flute bit at 25000 RPM and a feed of 3200 mm per minute. The parts came from sheets of white laminated plywood, 15 mm thick, cut through in a single 15 mm pass. The joinery is left exposed, which I think suits this kind of build nicely. Three concepts were worked out in 3D animation before the drop-leaf design won, and that folding mechanism was adapted from an existing miter saw stand. Layered plywood discs with wooden dowels serve as pivot hinges for the support arm.



The details that stand out to me: the stools have round seats with slotted perimeter tabs and interlocking cross braces, and their legs extend slightly past the seat so the units nest into a tight vertical stack that slides fully under the table. Osmo TopOil was wiped onto every exposed plywood edge, and sharp edges were broken on a benchtop router table.



One trade-off worth noting: the moving wooden parts demand tight tolerances to stop jamming, so there is no room for error, and damaged laminate cannot be repaired with filler.



Project by Aribabox. Watch it on their YouTube channel:

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This is exactly the kind of space-saving joinery work I enjoy seeing. The pivot hinge made from layered plywood discs and dowels looks like a clever detail. My question is about the folding leaf: how does it stay level and locked once it is lifted up for use? I am curious whether that is the linkage arm doing the work.

That is the linkage arm. When the folding leaf is lifted, the linkage swings forward and locks the extended top level with the main surface, so the two sit flush for seating four. The maker tested the moving support bracket by hand on the workbench before fitting it into the table, which seems a sensible way to check the action.

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