Beautifully Engineered

This dining table was commissioned by a local client who was simplifying and modernizing her condo. It was wonderful to be involved in her very deliberate process of selecting the perfect pieces for each nook and area within the home. Each part of the puzzle, from the Icelandic sheepskin rug in the living room, to the throw pillows on the couch, has its own story and was beautifully conceived and executed.

A small, well-made drop leaf dining table turned out to be hard to find, so I was brought in to design one with the client. The table has a simple, solid metal base with a small footprint, giving it a clean look as well as the necessary weight to support the leaves when open. The top is engineered from a plywood core, framed by a solid wood structure and faced with shop sawn veneers to give a distinctive look. In order to keep the underside of the table as clean as possible, I used a combination of steel bar stock and brass flat bar, developed by furniture maker Clark Kellogg, to build the supporting structure for the leaves.

The simple and effortless look of the final product is deceiving. The beauty of this table lies first in its engineering, and second in the fact that none of it is evident in the piece.

The base is powder-coated steel and the top is plywood and cherry veneer finished with a wiping varnish.