They’re where tea is sipped, papers are read, meals are enjoyed, and stories are recounted. Yet empty horizontal surfaces are too easily subsumed by greedy stacks of unopened mail, procrastinated paperwork, and the flurry of activity that surrounds them. Just the sort of clutter that many of us attempt to clear out in January. And if you do, tables can be beacons of order and oases of design that beckon you to task. Side up to these five fabulous refuges and you’ll see why.
1. Inspired by fossilized wood and the transformation of timber into stone, rifts and crevices filled with broken marbles, smalts, and mosaic tile adorn French designer Suzanne Rippe’s line of cocktail tables. Rippe collected old beams and logs meant for destruction and crafted them into the Bloc collection, launching this week at Maison & Objet in Paris at the Espace and Artytube exhibits in Hall 4. Rippe quipps, “Each piece of wood is unique. I let myself be guided by its shape and its own experience of lines, nodes, and cracks.” Suzanne Rippe, 33-2-38-63-35-92; http://www.suzannerippe.com./
2. Part of our new inventory at VandM and offered by Brazilian merchant Mercado Moderno, we’ve never seen anything quite like this striking 1950s table by Carlo Hauner. Inset with Indian straw and topped with glass, the table’s subtly tapered 29.9-inch legs and vast 85.5-by-37.4-inch surface are crafted from Caviuna, a Brazilian species of heavy hard dark-colored wood streaked with black and often called Brazilian rosewood. Hand-painted detailing adds yet another level of detail. Mercado Moderno, 55-21-2508-6083; http://www.mercadomodernobrasil.com.br/.
3. Jason Phillips’s Al Dente series of tables and chairs for the Phillips Collection is fresh from the design pot. A new launch for 2010, narrow metal rods in black, silver, or white support floating glass tops. The legs are clustered at various angles and propped against one another like uncooked strands of spaghetti. Just awarded the 2010 Product Designer of the Year Award from the ARTS Awards in Dallas, the series’ concept of rigidity is entirely different, contrasting with Phillip’s previously acclaimed deliverance of fluid curves. Phillips Collection, 336-882-7400; http://www.phillipscollection.com/.
4. Rocket Gallery in London has debuted its first ever furniture collection, teaming with Benchmark Furniture for production. And the launch pad? Rocket’s viewing room on the third floor in the gallery’s Tea Building. Stealing the show, the Hexad stacking table by Tomoko Azumi has just snagged a Wallpaper* 2010 Design Award for Best Coffee Table in the Domestic Design category. The solid oak table joins the gallery’s impressive roster of not only contemporary offerings but also vintage furniture by the likes of Jens Risom, Hans Wegner, and Poul Kjaerholm. Rocket Gallery, 44-20-7729-7594; http://www.rocketgallery.com/.
5. A testament to the hefty American bravado of pioneering modernist George Nelson, this solid wood dining table for Herman Miller is the largest of its series and is offered from VandM merchant Cain Modern in Los Angeles. Thanks to Nelson’s three removable leaves all featuring a checkerboard pattern – the center leaf comes apart into three pieces and can be stashed with the other two leaves that fold underneath – the table collapses and expands to seat 6 to 12 people, measuring 113 inches across at its largest. Cain Modern, 310-652-6045; http://www.cainmodern.com/.
This article is writen by Meghan Edwards is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in Interior Design and Metropolis magazines. She has worked in Special Collections at Christie’s and presently holds a full-time editorial position at Interior Design. Born and raised in rural Washington State, she graduated from Brown University in 2006 with a BA in the History of Art and Architecture. Ms. Edwards has studied and worked in France and Portugal and currently resides in Brooklyn, New York.
