We are in a 10 year old house and am just now completing a kitchen remodel. My dealer asked also if it could be the floors, but it is the base of the table (which is made out of wrought iron in a basket type pattern that sits on wood at the very bottom) that is totally rocking back. It's like having a glass top on a spring. You can hear the wrought iron cracking when the table is rocking. I've never seen anything like it before. http://www.nichols-stone.com/item.php?ID=1196 not sure if that will work, but that is a picture of the table.

"Do people with any taste still use these?" LOL! I ask myself that Q all the time! Here are my general opinions: I personally don't like much of anything skirted...but then my decorating tastes are more minimal. With that said, If was WAS going to skirt a bedside table, I would make sure I didn't overdo fabrics throughout the room so it appears everything is bathed in fabric. I prefer more balance of fabrics, woods, and other textures. I would make sure the fabrics on the bed & potentially on windows aren't matchy-matchy with the skirting. I would attempt to either play up the side table, or down-play it depending on what else is going on in the room...to create balance. Either create a focal point or be careful to not over-ride an existing focal point. So, with THAT said, I would personally not put glass on top. To me that's fussy (but then, that's me), so instead of glass tops, I would put a tray or some other nice-looking piece along-side the lamp (or whatever is on there) for the purpose of placing glasses & personal items in a contained and protected spot. Also, to me...when I see glass tops when nearby lamps/lighting are on...I just see the reflection of the glass more than I notice anything decorative. Again, light reflection draws the eye to the glass. Not sure if that happens to anyone else...but that's what I see. You might want to assess the lighting and determine if that's an effect you might be going for.

Congrats on the new little one on the way - how exciting! So, I come from the camp of "be careful, but not too cautious". Children get bumps and bruises, scratches and boo-boos...it's part of them growing up. You want to put them in a bubble and keep anything bad from every happening to them. Alas, I'm not sure that makes them well equipped to handle the world then. So, be careful...but not too much...what a tough balancing act. But, I digress. Also, something that I'm always reminded of is people wanting to save something "for good". My grandmother did that - they were of very modest means, so when she got something new, she always put it aside to save it for "something special". Well, there are plates that are in the china cupboard to this day that were never used because they might get scratched or chipped, so they should only be used for extra special company. Who is any more special than your very own day-to-day family, really? So, enjoy that gorgeous table. Embrace the dings, scratches, and dents that will come along with having use...remember what those come from...those are the things of memories...they are the things that you will reminisce about when your little one(s) are grown and gone. You will learn to see that dent and remember the day that your little boy (or girl) decided to ride his tricycle in the house and banged into the table leg and dented it, cried because he fell off and bumped his head...and stopped crying because you kissed away the hurt (that DOES work, you know!) And you will grow to love those dents (or at least the stories that go with them) more and more and more as the years fly by.

Of course, guys cut window glass all the time to fit people's windows. They even cut mirrors & bevel. So you can get a glass cutting tool at home building store or take it to any hardware that cuts glass & they will charge you few bucks to do it. Several ways to smooth the edge but you want it to match the rest. If it fits down in a "groove"(table has an edge around it with piece all around that glass sits on so most of glass is down & hidden on edge even so use some wet/dry sandpaper on block of wood to smooth glass so no 1 gets cut as glass is very sharp. Just as you could use emery board to file off chip on grandma's 100 yr old china, you can smooth this edge but if glass cutter can do it let him, you might save yourself some cuts. Painful until you get it smooth so won't cut you at all. If glass sits on top it is little more tricky & corners need care so you don't damage top. Good Luck!