BH | Studio Kenmare Pedestal Coffee Table

Eighteenth-century tea tables often had a raised rim around the top, so that cups and saucers could not slide off when the table was carried or brushed past. Set that tray-like top on a single central pedestal, a support that frees the edge for knees and chairs, and you have one of the most sensible small tables ever devised.

This one is made from solid hardwood. A wide, shallow top with a slim raised lip floats a little beyond a broad drum base, which flares gently as it nears the floor and gives the table a planted, grounded look. The top is one unbroken surface for drinks, books and display, rated to hold 156 lbs, and at 30 inches across it is sized for a small living room or an apartment. The wood is stained Jet or Chestnut, with the grain still showing as a soft texture beneath, so the surface has depth rather than shine.

The lip makes it a natural home for a tray of drinks, a scented candle and a dish of olives when friends come over, or of a single sculptural bowl. Set against a cream sofa and a pale wool rug, it gives the room a crisp, gallery-like centre; add a stack of art books and a ceramic vase in white or terracotta and it looks considered from every angle.