Interview With The Designer: Dining Table 01 and Dining Bench 01

Designing something as central to the home as a dining table takes more than just good looks—it’s about function, longevity, and creating a space where people want to gather. We caught up with Beck, the designer behind Dining Table 01 and Dining Bench 01, to give us the lowdown.

Hi Beck. So, talk us through the design process – what trials and tribulations did you run into when designing the Dining Table 01 and Dining Bench 01?

One of those most difficult things was probably getting the stain right. We went through a few different stains and ended up having a lot of back and forth on deciding which was the right one.

With the table, it was one of our first products that we ended up including a tool to assemble it with as well, so we decided to go ahead and have some bolts on there with a hex key. But it was really simple to put together and it’s really quick, so it felt right for us anyway. The bench has the same assembly method as well, even though it’s a smaller product. But, by doing it this way, it became easier to ship and we could do it more consciously.

What was your favourite part of the design process?

I think with these, it was probably seeing the extendable mechanism come together on the table. Even though we’ve done mechanisms before on our sofa beds before, this was the first time we’d done it with a solid wood product. So, it was just getting that mechanism really smooth and moving nicely. It’s exciting to see an extendable table and be able to test it and know it was strong enough.

What are some of the unique features on the Dining Table 01 and Dining Bench 01 that customers might not notice straight away?

We decided to run the grain on the top, so when you’ve added the leaf on the top section and extended it, you can see that the grain runs through the leaf. Which, might not be an obvious thing, but it ends up making a really high-quality product in the end.

We also added some tiny chamfer details. So, when you compact the table, it’s got a little chamfer where the leg meets the main part of the frame, which creates a small shadow gap and helps it look like a normal dining table when not extended.

Who do you envision using the Dining Table 01 and Dining Bench 01?

I think it’s a family table for mid to large families and anyone who’s got a reasonably sized dining room. People who like to host and have plenty of guests over and big family Christmases. The bench is a great addition the table as it’s built to slot perfectly under the table, so you can pop the table against the wall for space-saving or smaller gatherings.

Can you talk us through your decision behind the materials used for the Dining Table 01 and Dining Bench 01?

Sure. We ended up going for oak with a little bit of a stain on it. We thought that oak suited most interiors and as the dining table is such a large product, we wanted to start with oak because it’s less invasive than a really dark coloured material.

We chose the fabrics on the dining bench to match the Dining Chair 01, so you can combine all of those products together. And we tried to match the oaks for a more cohesive finish.

Final question – who would be your dream guests to sit around the Dining Table 01 with?

To be honest, I think that it would be my family. I just love the idea of entertaining them and having them over for big events. I’ve always really enjoyed feeding them and treating them to really nice foods that they’ve never had before. That’s who I’d go for.

Discover our Dining Furniture Collection here.