In with the Old by Jennifer Boles

Author:Jennifer Boles [Boles, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-385-34517-0
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
Published: 2013-10-22T04:00:00+00:00

An early-American claw-foot bench was given a modern makeover with the addition of leopard-print needlepoint upholstery. No needlepoint skills were needed, though, because the piece, which was purchased online, had been finished by somebody else.

OCCASIONAL TABLES

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO A FRIEND’S HOUSE FOR COCKTAILS, ONLY to find yourself seated in a chair, drink in hand, and with no nearby table upon which to rest your glass? If only your host had thought to place an occasional table close by, you might not have been forced to hold your drink the entire night, the warmth of your hands quickly taking the chill off your martini.

Usually positioned next to a chair or sofa where it can hold a drink, a small lamp, or perhaps a pair of eyeglasses, an occasional table heeds the decorating commandment that calls for some sort of table to be located within reach of all seating in a room. Although by definition occasional tables include end tables as well coffee tables, the most versatile are those that are slender and lightweight, easily moved to spots where they can be of most use.

While the range of occasional table styles is vast, a survey of the most famous examples would have to include the Adjustable Table E1027, the rather clinical name for the sublime tubular steel and glass circular table that was designed by Eileen Gray in 1927. Part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, Gray’s still-stylish table is available today at the MoMA Store as well as at Design Within Reach. This seems a good time, by the way, to mention that a contemporary-looking occasional table is an easy way to update a traditional interior. Its small size provides a suggestion of modernity while still being palatable to even the most dyed-in-the-wool traditionalists.

Occasional tables don’t have to be bona fide tables either. You can create an erudite-looking table by stacking your favorite design books one on top of the other and placing them next to a chair or bed. The bonus to this option is that it takes some of the pressure off of those overburdened bookshelves that couldn’t possibly accommodate another book. And as mentioned earlier, garden stools make for handy occasional tables, though they are best used near chairs of low to moderate height. After all, to be most effective, these tables need to be of comparable height to the seating they accommodate so that they can truly rise to the occasion.

SEE ALSO

Garden Stools.

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