EBONY TABLE

This table is inspired by the richness and poignancy of the rituals around dining and the frustration that the impediments the typical table often places in the way of these rituals.  

For instance, the apron of the typical table, an untimely discovery of knees, is made unnecessary by exploiting the structural integrity of the tabletop.  Eliminating the apron not only makes the table more comfortable, it allows for the tabletop to be a more assertive expressive component of the table, accentuating the surface that every gathering has in common.

The tabletop material, a veneer made from recycled ebony furniture that carefully wraps around the fileted edge, enhances the tautness of the top.  The arrangement of the people around a table is determined by the location of chairs, who, in turn, are governed by the legs.  Placing the legs at the extreme corners and coupling this with expandable leaves allows for the maximum variation of social patterns.