re: Where to start?

MontyJ, try a square table, use square legs but learn how to mortise by hand. Use pine. You can cut 2×4′s for legs on a table saw. And, get some really grade-A 3/4" shelving board with no knots and laminate your top. Use a hand-plane to joint. But mortise the legs, and tenon the aprons. And, don’t forget to consider expansion/contraction when you mount the tabletop. Just rabbet the drawers, leave the dovetails for another build.