Dining room furniture for illuminating suppers

Name: ‘Otto’ dining chair and table
Designer/Brand: Alejandro Villareal for Hayche
Price: from £435

Hayche’s latest collection of dining chairs and tables was designed by the brand’s founder and creative director Alejandro Villarreal. The midcentury-inspired series features slender and sculptural bent steel frames, supporting gently curved plywood shapes for maximum comfort. The armchair is stackable (up to four chairs) and the collection is available in three finishes, with white or black metal frames mixed and matched with oak and walnut plywood. Hayche was founded in London by Mexican-born Villareal, and has collaborated with the likes of Daniel Schofield as well as the late designer Vladimir Kagan, for a special piece for Wallpaper* Handmade in 2015. 

Name: EVO-C Chair
Designer/Brand: Jasper Morrison for Vitra, available from Wallpaper*STORE
Price: From £285

‘Not just any plastic chair’: Jasper Morrison and Vitra have collaborated on a new design that takes the classic two-leg cantilevered tubular metal chair to new frontiers with the first all-plastic version of the model. Dutch architect Mart Stam created the first two-legged chair in 1926; nearly a century later (after iconic designers such as Alvar Aalto, Verner Panton and Marcel Breuer took a spin at the design too), Morrison and Vitra have taken the concept a step further, creating a plastic chair that is resistant and durable thanks to gas injection moulding technology. 

Name:‘Golem’ vase
Designer: Rückl Glassworks, available from WallpaperSTORE*
Price: £349

 Inspired by the famous Prague legend of Golem and its creator, Rabbi Löw, Rony Plesl and Rückl Glassworks have created the ’Golem’ vase, a stunning vessel taken from a collection that celebrates pattern, Bohemian crystal and craftsmanship. Featuring ’Špictajn’ — a delicate pyramid-like pattern — across the entirety of its surface, the clear vessel is hand-produced in Rückl Glassworks’ workshop in Nižbor by master glassmakers and cutters, and is a testament to the brand’s commitment to minimalist design and exceptional quality.

Name: ‘Matka’ jug
Designer: Ikkis, available from WallpaperSTORE*
Price: £225

Gunjan Gupta’s brand Ikkis continues its tribute to traditional Indian objects and tableware with the ’Matka’ jug. Crafted from the brand’s patented terracotta-coated copper, the ’Matka’ jug presents a stylish vessel not dissimilar to the traditional Indian water pot for which it is named

Name: ‘Penelope’ pastry stand, aquamarine
Designer: Sambonet, available from WallpaperSTORE*
Price: £100

Inspired by the design philosophies and spirit found amongst Italian objects and architecture created in the 1950s, Sambonet’s ’Penelope’ collection is a reinterpretation of a bygone era. Not for the first time, the historic Italian brand has manifested these qualities as the character and personality of an imaginary female figure — Penelope — a spirit that is at once modern and emancipated, sophisticated in beauty and decisive yet gentle. The collection, which comprises a series of bowls, centrepieces, and a macaron dish, combines the brand’s signature quality craftsmanship with resin detailing and polished stainless steel. Entirely made in Italy, this sleek pastry stand offers a mirrored base atop a series of aquamarine resin feet, and is crowned by an additional sphere at the top of the stand. Presented in gift packaging.

Name: Pigeon Light
Designer: Ed Carpenter for Very Good & Proper
Price: £95

Designed in 2001 as an alternative souvenir of London, Ed Carpenter’s Pigeon Lamp celebrated the city’s wildlife through a humorous design. Originally created by Carpenter for his RCA graduation, the lamp was discovered by Thorsten Van Elten and put into production in a variety of candy hues. Characterised by a plastic silhouette of a pigeon concealing a lightbulb, the lamp is now making a return in time for its 20th anniversary and re-issued in black and white by Carpenter’s brand, Very Good & Proper

Name: Side Table
Designer: Floyd and Thing Thing
Price: on request

To prove that good things do come out of adversity, two Detroit-based entities, sustainably-minded furniture brand Floyd and innovative manufacturing studio Thing Thing, team up to reimagine Floyd’s signature Side Table. Taking Thing Thing’s approach of using intuitive design to give post-industrial plastics another life, the limited edition table features a one-of-a-kind handmade surface, made completely from locally sources plastic waste.

The two colourways are Cake, a bright white high-density polyethylene with multicoloured flecks created by toy factory scraps, and Galaxy, a black polypropylene surface with colourful flecks sourced from automotive factory scraps. Each surface is measured, blended and polished by hand in the Thing Thing studio and paired with Floyd’s powder-coated steel legs, which are easily assembled and the foundation to all of the firm’s pieces.

Name: Viola chair
Designer: AB concept for Poltrona Frau
Price: on request

The debut collaboration between the Italian furniture company and Hong Kong-based design studio, the Viola chair is a piece developed with the fine dining market in mind. The chair is designed and engineered for maximum comfort over a long period of time - ideal for a Michelin starred meal. Featuring a minimal base crafted from fine Frassino Moka Wood, the model is enriched by a series of strings in 60 Pelle Frau leather sculpting the armrests and back, inspired by its namesake musical instrument. ‘With Viola, we celebrate the simplicity of the frame and draw attention to its quality engineering,’ says ED NG, co-founder of AB Concept. ‘We have achieved volume whilst retaining a relatively slim profile through the integration of the leather strings.’

Name: Longpi
Designer/brand: Tiipoi
Price: Longpi Karipan (pictured), £59; Longpi Kari cookware set, £179

Longpi in India has a population of about 8,000, but Spandana Gopal, founder of Indian design studio Tiipoi, saw so much potential from this village in Manipur. Collaborating with master craftsman Mathew Sasa, the brand devised two pots, a pan and two serving bowls using serpentine stone from the region that has been mixed with clay from the nearby river to create its unique form. The traditional concoction has been meticulously crafted and given modern touches from the Tiipoi team, and the result is a contemporary collection of cookware that can adorn the dining table too.

Name: Cross Chair Tube
Designer/brand: Pearson Lloyd  for Takt
Price: from £129

Continuing the flatpack revolution, Danish furniture brand Takt are once again teaming up with London-based Pearson Lloyd to create a refreshed version of the Cross Chair. The difference? The solid oak frame has been replaced with recycled tubular steel – a lightweight option available in  three ply finishes: natural oak, smoked oak and black. ‘The proposition to deliver sustainable furniture using simple e-commerce principles with Scandinavian design values was utterly compelling. It seems like the market agrees,’ says Tom Lloyd, co-founder and co-director of Pearson Lloyd. The new version arrives a year after the original, and is joined by the new Cross table – both designs are realised with 100% eco-certified materials and are made for longevity.

Name: Dishes to Dishes
Designer/brand: Glenn Sestig, for Valerie Objects, available from WallpaperSTORE*
Price: on request

Architect Glenn Sestig has taken his creative vision to the table, with this collection of stackable plates and bowls, designed for Valerie Objects. Using a combination of tinted wood and coloured ceramic, Sestig crafted forms that feature a thin lip around the perimeter. When placed on top of one another, bases form lids – allowing any formation to be built up in a totemic-like way. As for the name? Sestig was inspired by a certain British musical icon… ‘When I heard the song “Ashes to Ashes” in the car, the name “Dishes to Dishes” came to mind,’ he explained. ‘All the more so because I think the form of the dishes is reminiscent of a galactic shape’. 

Name: Frisée chair
Designer/brand: Cristina Celestino for Billiani
Price: from €320,50

Italian chair specialist Billiani has been working with Milan-bsed Cristina Celestino, who has served as the company’s art director since 2019. The designer has left her unmistakable whimsical and feminine mark on the brand’s collections with two new pieces. As well as an upholstered piece, Celestino has designed a series of wooden dining seats, including a chair, stool and armchair. Titled Frisée as a nod to the design’s undulated edge, Celestino’s delicate chair features rounded edges and a colour palette that includes a soft powder pink, navy blue and sage green.

Name: CE bar cart
Designer/brand: Gisela Simas, for Espasso
Price: from £5,510

Traditional English tea trolleys of times gone by informed Gisela Simas’ modernist take on a drinks cart, designed for Espasso. The brand deals exclusively with midcentury and contemporary Brazilian design so it felt like a natural fit to work with Simas who, although based in London, is a Brazilian native. She opted to use freijo, a wood originating from the American Tropics, for the cart and each section has been crafted by hand – from its tambour door that conceals shelves on its inside to a set of simple circular wheels that give the piece a modern feel. Most importantly, its top has been coated and stain-proofed to protect it from those inevitable cocktail spillages

Name: ‘Hacker’ marble vase
Designer/brand: DWA Design Studio, available from WallpaperSTORE*
Price: $10,150

The product of a collaboration between Manuel Coltri, Frederik De Wacher and Alberto Artesani of the Milan-based DWA Design Studio, and curator Paolo De Vivo, the ‘Hacker’ collection brings together a series of marble pieces that debuted at Salone del Mobile earlier this year. Combining Manuel Coltri’s extensive experience in working with natural stone with new artisan techniques, unused marble slabs have been repurposed to create a series of decorative objects like this large blue vase, which is defined by a checkerboard scheme. This ultimate ’hack’, in which traditional processing methods are broken down to create new ones, has resulted in a series of sparkling designs that clearly demonstrate the manual work required to achieve the end product

Name: Kouki
Designer/brand: Nendo, for Editions Milano
Price: €3,416

Kouki (Japanese for ‘light-shine’) is the first collaboration between Tokyo-based studio Nendo and Italian brand Editions Milano. The contemporary candle set channels Oki Sato’s minimalist interpretation of the candle lighting ritual, focusing on stripped-back utility and purpose. The range comprises a cylindrical candleholder, container, tray and match holder, all existing in marble finishes of either black Marquinia or white Arabescato. Elegantly accompanying this is a wick trimmer and snuffer made in hand brushed brass

Name: Note table
Designer/brand: Edward Collinson Studio
Price: £6,000

London-based Edward Collinson returns to his Yorkshire roots for his latest furniture range. The designer felled a trio of oak trees for the Three Oaks collection, which includes the Note table (pictured). For its form, Collinson took inspiration from the work of coopers, craftsmen trained in the production of wooden containers. The table’s base is created with individual ‘coopered’ staves, whilst its deep brown tone is the product of fuming, a finishing process that deepens the natural colour of wood. Collinson planted 21 oak saplings on the site of the used trees, promising new life in the space. 

Name: ’Mila’ bowl
Designer/brand: Sebastian Herkner for Pulpo, available from WallpaperSTORE*
Price: from £119

A bowl, but not in the traditional sense. Designed for German brand Pulpo, Sebastian Herkner’s ’Mila’ bowl functions just as it should, despite a couple of unusual adjustments. Atop a rectangular cuboid base sits a solid, filled hemisphere with slightly concave surface. The subtle dip works in practical terms, allowing the bowl to hold a variety of foodstuffs, while also offering a sculptural element to the glazed ceramic pieces

Name: Six Tableaux
Designer/brand: Studio Binocle
Price: from £4,240

Works by great contemporary artists including Gary Hume and Ellsworth Kelly were reinterpreted to form a collection of six tables by Italian studio Binocle. Each table features a uniquely shaped top based on a section or detail of the work. These were then crafted from a single marble slab, taken from an Italian quarry, before being set upon five marble legs. Two sizes are available; a larger table that can seat a dining party of eight, or a smaller coffee table. 

Name: ’Form’
Designer/brand: Tom Dixon, available from WallpaperSTORE*
Price: $259

Paying homage to tea serving traditions with an added touch of art deco charm, the ’Form’ tea pot by British designer Tom Dixon is both sophisticated and practical. Cut from stainless steel, the bulbous pot features a wrapped leather handle — a detail that is decorative and practical in equal parts. The piece is taken from Dixon’s ’Form’ collection, a tableware and tea family whose inspirations draw on everything from Gatsby glamour to the wooden kamandalu containers carried by Jain monks

Name: Single line carafe
Designer/brand: David Derksen, for Tre Product, available from WallpaperSTORE*
Price: $59

In addition to its most obvious use, laboratory apparatus has a second, equally appealing function: design inspiration. Here, glass beakers are reinterpreted by Dutch designer David Derksen, who has taken cues from their every detail in this Tre Products one litre carafe. Horizontal measuring lines are reimagined as a mesmeric, patterned arrangement around the entire circumference of the object, while the employment of high quality borosilicate glass further highlights the lab as a source of inspiration while giving the carafe an increased dimension of strength

Name: Marbled jug
Designer/brand: Hay, available from WallpaperSTORE*
Price: $75

A charming addition to any tabletop, Hay’s marbled jug enchants with a mesmerising swirled surface design, which combines tones of blue/brown/grey with white. Made from porcelain, the jug can be used to serve beverages or as a creative vessel in which to display flowers

Name: Barbican Trolley
Designer/brand: Visibility, for Dims
Price: $350

Visibility projected a sense of architectural grandeur into the design of its Barbican Trolley, a new release by modernist design retailer Dims. Structured vertically, this serving trolley is made from steel and ash wood. A natural-height handle and set of wheels animate the utilitarian trolley, making it suitable and adaptable to an array of domestic environs. Its matt finish – available in a colourway of Wimbledon Green, Graphite Black and A4 White – conceals its form in the backdrop whilst quietly perpetuating its held objects

Name: ’Macchia Su Macchia’ vase
Designer/brand: Stories of Italy, available from WallpaperSTORE*
Price: $276

Produced by Stories of Italy, the ’Macchia Su Macchia’ set is taken from a new collection inspired by macchia — the mesmeric swirling patterns of pigment that appear on the surface of many Murano glass pieces. The macchia application has been broken down, reconstructed, and applied multiple times — the result is an opaque smattering of colours and layers of hue that give the vessel a surprising texture

Name: Seasaw dining table
Designer/brand: Nendo for Marsotto Edizoni
Price: on request

Taking centre stage is the monolithic marble dining table by Japanese designer Nendo. Available in two distinctly different looks, White Carrara and Black Marquina, the similarities lie in the architecture of the streamlined piece. Appearing as if balanced on the geometric legs, the piece comes together with all joints stealthily hidden for an impressive dining experience

Name: ’Bølling’ tray table
Designer/brand: Brdr. Krüger available from WallpaperSTORE*
Price: £608

Tasked with the challenge to create a simple and highly functional table that could be assembled with ease, Danish architect Hans Bølling designed the ’Bølling’ tray table in 1963. Crafted from natural beech wood, this tall version of the table comprises a foldable H-frame upon which rests two red and black circular reversible trays, which can be flipped for colour variation. The result is a versatile piece that can be utilised as a side table or a serving trolley and fully meets Bølling’s mission to create a practical table that simultaneously offers emotional and playful qualities

Name: ’Efesto’ candleholder
Designer/brand: Valerio Ciampicacigli for Forma&Cemento available from WallpaperSTORE*
Price: £130

Designed by Valerio Ciampicacigli for Italian concrete experts Forma&Cemento, ’Efesto’ is an elegant candleholder that balances the delicateness of a soft, bulbous glass holder with a hard concrete base. The result is a piece that makes an equal impact whether empty or occupied by a lit candle

Name: Siman
Designer/brand: Gian Paolo Venier for Urbi Et Orbi
Price: $6,500.00 Siman

Inspired by the ancient Toghrul tower near Tehran, Iran, Gian Paolo Venier’s new collection of concrete tableware is textured and timeless. The collection of seven pieces, including cakestand and candleholder, is titled Siman (‘concrete’ in Farsi) and was designed for the Greek studio Urbi Et Orbi, which specialises in concrete object design. The poetic depth and graphic nature of Venier’s pleated concrete renders are a raw addition to the dining area. Hand produced in Greece and available in two colours, grey and anthracite, Siman appears as both architectural memory and future innovation

Name: ’Tulou’ tables
Designer/brand: GamFratesi for Hay, available from WallpaperSTORE*
Price: £165,00

Designed by GamFratesi for Danish brand Hay, the ’Tulou’ table combines two simple elements — a circular steel plate and a four legged frame — for a sleek contemporary design that offers function and style. Available in a selection of finishes and colours, this version of the table is powder-coated and finished in a shades of rust and green

Name: ‘Rust’ box
Designer/brand: Prin London, available from WallpaperSTORE*
Price: £305

Taken from Prin London’s debut homeware collection ‘Rust’, this circular trinket was created by mixing metal particles taken from key cutting and other metalworking workshops across London, with gypsum and acrylic. The result is a handmade piece that features its own unique series of characteristics due to the metal dust oxidation, which imparts a unique texture varying in colour and intensity and is enhanced as the materials patinate over time, reflecting the relationship with their owners

Name: Bent box
Designer/brand: Visibility for Normann Copenhagen
Price: £55

These versatile storage boxes by New York-based designers Visibility for the Danish design stalwarts Normann Copenhagen nod to traditional Japanese magewappa bento boxes made from bentwood. The minimalist beech veneer pieces are stackable allowing the playful yet muted tones of rose, rust and elm green to be paired for a visually pleasing storage system that can be used in the dining room and beyond

Name: ‘Lens Flair’
Designer/brand: Lee Broom
Price: £850

British designer Lee Broom’s new lighting product Lens Flair is made of two halves – one solid and one transparent. Lens Flair is available as both a Pendant Light and Table Lamp, measuring 16 inches in diameter. The lighting product features a cross-cut lens, which emits soft light, while maintaining a boldness from the semi-circular solid casing, available in brushed brass or matte black. The collection uses new technology, with LED lighting systems, and custom-designed and in-house developed bulbs. Inspired by telescopic lenses, Lens Flair is both classic and futuristic, similar to the rest of Broom’s Observatory collection of new lighting for 2018

Name: ‘Stripe’ bowls
Designer/brand: Grete Prytze Kittelsen, for Cathrineholm
Price: €35

Often referred to as the queen of Scandinavian design in the mid-20th century, Norwegian designer Grete Prytz Kittelsen, who hobnobbed with the likes of the Eames and Alvar Aalto, was known initially for her work in gold and silver. When deliberately embarking on more democratic design in the 1950s, she discovered ironworks Cathrineholm, an expert in enamelling, and a highly lauded collaboration began. When she died in 2010, Kittelsen’s children held the rights to her designs until Danish retailer Imerco bought them exclusively three years ago. It is slowly reissuing her work, under the Cathrineholm label, starting with the ‘Stripes’ bowls, with the ‘Cathedral’ and ‘Sensation’ series to follow

Name: ‘Arch’ trays
Designer/brand: De Intuïtiefabriek, for Caussa
Price: €158.82

The architectural form of an arch is the starting point for these concrete trays by Dutch design studio De Intuïtiefabriek. Described as ‘table architecture’ the ornamental pieces play with balance between the thick, solid concrete and the opposing hollow space it creates sitting on the surface. Available in an array of different shades, from a subtle beige to vibrant scarlet tones, the trays complement each other to create a subtle puzzle of pattern when placed together

Name: ‘Margot’ water goblet
Designer/brand: Fferrone Design, available from WallpaperSTORE*
Price: £116 for two

Combining intricate detailing with innovative production techniques and materials, Fferrone’s ‘Margot’ collection presents a new take on cut glass. Each 450ml water goblet offers two vessels – one in place of a traditional stem – formed from fluted borosilicate glass created without the use of moulds. The result is a glassware duo that is equally suited to both everyday and formal settings