BH | Studio Marfa Oval Dining Table

Marfa, a small high-desert town in West Texas, became a landmark of modern design after the artist Donald Judd settled there in the 1970s and filled its old buildings with spare, carefully proportioned furniture and art. The oval dining table is far older, a favourite since the eighteenth century, when drop-leaf ovals let a household seat more people in less space, and without sharp corners it still feels sociable and fits a long room gracefully.

This one has a long, softly oval top of solid hardwood, thick and smooth with a rich mid-brown grain, with room for everything from weekday breakfasts to a full holiday spread of platters and candles. It stands on two broad drum supports, each curving inward at the waist, made from flexible plywood and wrapped in a textured woven fabric in a soft mink-brown that brings warmth and contrast under the wood. It seats six for everyday meals and eight when you are hosting, and the top is rated to hold 220 lbs.

A table for a family dining room or a large eat-in kitchen, it seats six for breakfast on school days and eight for the long Thanksgiving dinner. Dress it with a runner of ivy and a row of candles, with wicker or upholstered chairs all round. Rich wood over a soft upholstered base feels warm and a little retro, lovely with a globe pendant and a mushroom-toned rug.