BH | Studio Hambledon Marble-Top Coffee Table

Marble has topped good furniture for centuries, from the side tables of eighteenth-century houses to the marble-slabbed washstands of the Victorian bedroom, prized because it is cool, heavy and handsome. Green marble in particular has been sought after since Roman times, when it was quarried in Greece and shipped across the Mediterranean.

Here a rectangular slab of deep bottle green marble, threaded with pale veining, sits low and wide on two broad hardwood panels in a warm chestnut finish. The top is cut with crisp, straight edges, and because marble is a natural stone, the veining on each one is its own. Each panel is split by a slim upright gap and has gently rounded corners, and metal mounting plates fix the stone to the base. Adjustable feet beneath can be raised or lowered to keep the table steady on an uneven floor, and their pads leave no marks. It goes together quickly.

Its low, broad top suits the slow parts of the day: coffee and the paper on a quiet morning, a board of cheese and a bottle of wine when friends drop by. It sits as well in front of a deep, loose-cushioned sofa as before a pair of tailored armchairs. Put it in a living room with dark walls and brass lamps, with art books and a candle. The green stone loves company: velvet in rust or ochre, a faded kilim, and plenty of warm wood around it.