How could this be better?

You almost have book matched opposing sides. Book matching some wild wood would (wood would, is there such a thing) be very good looking with some wild color/design in the middle.

-- I would drink a river of the kool aid before I took the smallest sip of the tea...

Good one Russell
I might suggest using clear wood as they knots are
a distraction.

Waho6o9, You’d be hard pressed to find 20 inches on a cedar board without a knot.

-- Failure does not stop me, it makes me try harder..... because I'm crazy.

I looks like wah and I are again in disagreement. Oh, well what’s new.

-- I would drink a river of the kool aid before I took the smallest sip of the tea...

Russell, I think it looks great. A few possible improvements, and they are subjective, so some may disagree.

The legs would look better if they were 5/4” to give a heavier look.
The corners on the 3/4” wrap seems to draw my eye away from the tile. try cutting the wrap size in half, using a thinner stock. Maybe even miter those corners.

Another possibility, (not an improvement, just different) Is make the top grain all go the same direction.
Lap joint the wrap so you don’t see it from the top would be another possible change.

-- There is nothing like the sound of a well tuned hand plane. - http://timetestedtools.wordpress.com (timetestedtools at hotmail dot c0m)

My suggestion would be to miter or lock miter or mortice/tenon the corners of the skirt.
What you have there is but joints that go the same direction on the skirt and on the table face.
At the least, make them go opposite directions. The whole thing will be stronger and it will break up the monotony of the top.

You really can’t get clear cedar there? Wow, I bought a bunch of fence boards at our local mom and pop Ace Hardware and I had a difficult time finding any with knots big enough for what I needed!

Edit:
I agree with all Don W said, plus just now thinking about it, make the table top on a 45° angle.

-- Improvise.... Adapt...... Overcome!

Don, I was also thinking that maybe I could have the table top on top of the frame thus eliminating any extra work on the frame. The size of the tile pretty much dictates what the surface will look like and I’m having a hard time making the decision as to whether I should have a solid surface or a slotted one. I’d think setting the tile would be hard to do on a slotted surface.

-- Failure does not stop me, it makes me try harder..... because I'm crazy.

Dallas, I haven’t been using fencing cedar. I just buy the dimensional lumber. I bet the cedar fencing looks nice after you plane it. Never thought of that.

-- Failure does not stop me, it makes me try harder..... because I'm crazy.

Does anybody know what widths cedar fencing comes in. Can you get it as wide as 8 inches?

-- Failure does not stop me, it makes me try harder..... because I'm crazy.

http://www.yellowpages.com/lees-summit-mo/lumber

McCray Lumber looks like it will have quality lumber.

Nothing, the table is perfect as is from the design element. It fits with the chairs, it costs $30 and a day to make, it is just perfect.

The hardest thing to make is furniture that fits with the surrounding decor.

-- Just because you’ve always done it that way doesn’t mean it’s not incredibly stupid.

It’s good looking work. I wouldn’t mind seeing many of the suggestions above put into place. Miter the corners and thicker legs. One “fun” thing you can do is build a set of similar, but not identical tables. I have seen this done with chairs and i like the idea. you change enough to make it noticeable, but keep enough of the elements similar that They clearly belong in the same family. Ofcourse you may not want or need three tables, just a thought that would let you experiment.

I like it and I like the knots but there should have been a knot in the lower left corner to even every thing out… and the legs are to thin. Looks like if you set a keg of beer on it it would fall over.

-- I'm a twisted 2x4 in a pile of straight lumber.

Actually I like it and it goes with the chairs. The knots give it Character. Time will tell as far as the wood movement with the different grain directions. Nice piece!

-- www.thepatriotwoodworker.com Proud Supporter of Homes For Our Troops

I agree that the legs look too thin.
Another idea is to cut small white tiles to go around the perimeter. This would mirror the center tile and add another design element. The tiles could be on the top just inside the edging or vertically imbedded in the outside of the edging itself.

-- Rich, Seattle, WA