While we were drooling over modern coffee tables by Noguchi or Zeisel, our friend Kyle Downes over at Ultra Awesome was keeping it real: real geeky and nostalgic, that is. Kyle built himself one of the coolest coffee tables we’ve ever seen– a functioning NES controller coffee table. In a stroke of old school genius, Kyle devised this giant NES controller from a scan of an original, crafting this one out of wood and basic electronics. Like we said, it works. Plug it into a classic NES console and you’ve got giant sized NES action. It may feel a little clumsy at first, but hey– playing Super Mario Bros. is like riding a bike. Stick around below the fold for more info on this work of modern gamer art, plus video of it in action.

The development of Kyle’s NES controller coffee table didn’t come naturally. Kyle had some basic electrical education, but woodwork was new to him. With some help from family and friends, his dream came together in a matter of weeks.

Beyond its functionality of a NES controller, this coffee table also doubles as a storage container, the top flips open to reveal a classic trunk-like container. Kyle keeps his Nintendo nostalgia within– from titles, controllers and more from NES and other systems. Additionally, this coffee table has a glass piece that covers full unit and protects the controller pieces from spills of beer, soda, salsa and otherwise. Enough talk, though– let’s see this baby in action.

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Be sure to visit UltraAwesome for details on the NES controller coffee table and how you can build your own…