SIENA COFFEE TABLE

Siena is a large table on angled wooden legs that intersect in a solid cross beneath it. The top is broad, with fine detailing along the edge, and it is made in tempered glass or marble. Three diameters: 100, 80 and 60 cm.

The crossed legs

The legs lean inward and meet in a cross under the centre of the table, so the load comes down through a single intersection rather than through four separate points. That is what allows a 100 cm top to stand on timber this slender without a stretcher rail or an apron in the way of anyone's feet. It also gives the table a different silhouette from every angle, which a four-legged table does not.

Tempered glass or marble

Tempered glass is not ordinary glass: it is heat-treated so that it resists impact several times better and, if it does break, falls into blunt fragments instead of shards. On a coffee table, where people put down heavy objects and children run past, that is the difference between a sensible choice and a risk. Marble is the other option — heavier, warmer in character, unique to the slab.

The edge detail

A fine line runs around the rim of the top, catching light against the darker surface. On a table with no other ornament it is what keeps the top from reading as a plain disc, and it has to be true all the way round — on a circle, any variation is immediately visible.

Materials and sizes

Three diameters, listed above; made to order, so other sizes are possible. Top material, wood species, stain and edge finish are specified per project.

Where it belongs

A large living room, a lounge, a hotel suite. The 100 cm version needs floor around it to be seen properly; in a small room the 60 is the right piece.