Table Talk

From several years ago when I had a large tree cut down in my yard, I have a relatively large slab of wood, and I feel like I shouldn't waste it.  I should do something useful with it.  Below are a couple pictures of the slab itself.  I measured it once, but I don't have the dimensions here right now.  I think it's approximately 50" x 12" x 3".  I thought the slab was from an ash tree, but a couple people have said they think it looks like oak.  It's either ash or oak, I know that for sure.  One guy at work told me the two look very similar.

Here is what the slab looks like in its existing rough form:

I'm thinking I would like to make this into a hall table of some kind.  It would actually go in my living room and not my hall, but that's beside the point.  I'm thinking I would put my stereo on it.  The other idea I've heard is that I could turn it into a mantle, but that would involve putting anchors into my fireplace, and I'm not sure I want to mess with that.

Maybe next post I'll post a picture of my fireplace area and the area where I'm thinking I'll put the table to help you visualize some stuff.

So.....if you have ideas, let me know.  Post a link to an example or e-mail me a picture or something.  Here are some examples of some of the designs I found on the internet that I like.  I like contrasting colors, the lower second shelf (often with slats), and often a bit of a "mission" style.  You might see the theme in these pictures.