BH | Studio Thaxted Oval Double-Pedestal Dining Table

The double-pedestal dining table had become a fixture of the English dining room by the end of the eighteenth century: setting a long top on two central supports rather than legs at the corners let everyone at the table sit without a leg between their knees. This version gives that old arrangement a sculpted, modern form.

This one is a long, round-ended oval set on two broad pedestals, each a cluster of rounded lobes. It is built of engineered wood finished in concrete, with a soft, chalky surface in Cream or Jet. With the supports set in from the ends rather than at the corners, six to eight people sit around it without bumping a leg, and it is strong, rated to hold 341 lbs. Felt pads protect the floor beneath each base, and assembly is required.

Put it at the heart of a family dining room for weeknight suppers and long holiday lunches, or use it in a large kitchen as a big work table for rolling pastry and doing homework. It even makes a generous oval desk in a home office or a studio. Cream is soft and sculptural, Jet more dramatic: pair with oak or bouclé chairs, a large paper pendant, earthenware bowls and branches of olive or eucalyptus in a tall vase.