BH | Studio Cluny Round Pedestal Dining Table

The pedestal dining table came into its own in the early nineteenth century, when cabinetmakers in Empire France and Regency England set round tops on central supports so that diners were no longer fighting with legs at the corners. A table with nothing at its edges is still the most generous shape for a meal: everyone can see everyone, and there is always room for one more chair.

This table has a round top in a wood veneer, Hazel, a warm brown, or Honey, its open grain clearly visible, set on a pedestal of three rounded columns clustered together like the piers of a Romanesque church. Because the support sits at the centre, there is nothing at the edge to knock a knee on and chairs can pull in anywhere around it; it seats four comfortably. The table is rated to hold 330 lbs, and assembly is required.

It fits a breakfast corner or a small dining room, seating four for weekday meals and relaxed Saturday suppers with friends, and doubles as a work table between meals. Hang a pendant low over the centre and set a bowl of fruit between the plates. Hazel, the deeper brown, suits a room of cream walls, leather chairs and brass, with a vintage rug underneath.