Pippa Marble Coffee Table

The Pippa Marble Coffee Table is a 98cm circle standing 33cm high, cut from natural travertine and sealed with a water-based finish. An oversized bullnose edge wraps an inset top. It arrives fully assembled.

An oversized bullnose on stone is a considered decision rather than a decorative one. A sharp arris in travertine chips the first time something is knocked against it, and the chip is permanent; rolling the edge over a generous radius means the same knock leaves nothing, which on a coffee table in a room with children is the difference between a piece that stays intact and one that does not.

Travertine is a more forgiving stone than marble in a living room. Its natural pitting means it is already textured, so a mark reads as part of the surface rather than as damage, and the warm tone sits with timber and linen where a cool white marble insists on being the coolest thing in the room.

At 33cm this is low, and low is right for a circle this wide. A round table 98cm across is reached across rather than around, so keeping the height below the seat cushion line makes the far side usable rather than decorative.