The shape of things

When moving from one house to another we are always challenged with furniture that was selected for a space that is completely different to what we arrive to at our new abode. This square table was perfect for the square dining room in my clients previous home but in this large open plan house, the dining table was dwarfed by the new dimensions. The trouble was other than the shape of the table, nothing else was wrong with it so after literally a decade of living with the table, my client surprised me with an urgent cry for help.

My client found that she was hosting book club more and more often and her family was expanding to accommodate new grandchildren and the dinky table just no longer served it’s purpose. The well chosen fabric the chairs were covered in was still perfectly sound, so I had to find a way to replicate the existing table, stain and style and literally just change the shape of things while adding an additional 4 chairs to the equation.

Taking a lot of photos and even getting the carpenter to visit the site, we got on with the task of manufacturing a 12-seater where there once was only 8. I decided that if we widened the table to accommodate 2 each end, we could bring in an entirely new chair, different fabric and eliminate the need to try and copy chairs and fabrics that were already out of date and manufacture. This huge table is 1.50m wide either end and only has to seat 8 on the long sides which gave a pleasing shape to the table and filled the space perfectly.  My client was so delighted with their new acquisition that she messaged to say her husband was dancing on it the day after it was delivered. I so love a story with a happy ending. Another successful installation.