Hayes Side Table

The Hayes Side Table in Satin Oak is 48cm wide, 48cm deep and 48cm high, a cube in outline with a round top. Three hourglass-shaped solid oak legs support an oak veneer top with a bullnose edge. The satin finish keeps the grain visible.

Three legs rather than four is the decision that makes this table work on an uneven floor. A three-legged table cannot rock, because three points always define a plane, which matters more than it sounds in an older house or on a rug with a seam under it.

The hourglass leg profile is doing the same job as the bullnose edge on the top: taking a plain form and giving it one curve to be read by. Neither is decorative in the usual sense; between them they turn a round top on three sticks into something that looks drawn rather than assembled.

At 48cm cubed the proportions are unusually neat, and that is a practical virtue. It sits at the same height as most sofa seats, so it can be used as an extra perch, and the round top means there is no corner facing the walkway.