Sometimes the simplest designs are the most complex to create. I learn that lesson again and again, and each time I learn it a new way.
My true area of expertise is wood, but I love working with steel. It plays an essential role in my product line, and I've begun to use it more and more on custom projects. So when Kate Taylor Boehm - an absolute favorite client of mine and and extremely talented designer - reached out to me with a request for a solid steel dining table, I happily agreed.
We quickly came to terms on the general form of the table and put together a rendering for inspiration based on the other pieces she expected would be included in the completed dining room. In particular, Kate wanted the base to reference the Camp Stools she had at her kitchen counter. Here's what we came up with:
I use solid steel in all of my pieces, and wanted to use steel "wire" (solid in the middle) as opposed to "tube" (hollow in the middle) for the table base to offset the massive weight of a solid steel top. Although tube has the advantage of not having wobble when supporting a lot of weight, lowering the center of gravity was extremely important with a 200 pound tabletop!
To add weight and also get rid of any possible wobble, we added a few more structural supports to the design rendered above. When fabrication was complete, Kate was still deciding on the finish. We took the opportunity to take some fantastic shots of it on a moody, misty Chicago afternoon.
After rendering a half dozen combinations of colors, she ultimately decided to have the tabletop powder coated a beautiful neutral gray (Telegrau - RAL 7047) with a white base. With a few helping hands I had it at the powder coater's place just in time to grind and smooth a bit more before powder coating.
The piece came out beautifully, and we only had time to photograph it at the powder coater's before shipping it down to Nashville, TN. I loved how the industrial nature of the shop rhymed so nicely with the colors and form of the table.
These images pale in comparison to the final dining room, where my Camp Stools were beautifully paired with Eric Trine's Rod + Weave chairs.
In home images shot by @ourampersandphoto