T-Table is a minimalist table created by Vancouver-based design brand EDITS. As a refined version of the modern panel leg table, T-Table is the embodiment of what EDITS stands for not only as a company, but their design philosophy as a whole. It questions the limits of reductionist minimalism, and challenges at what point an object contain so little design that it isn’t really a “design” at all. It is in many ways another intentionally indistinct table, a non-design design, but at the same time also communicates a clear point of view of contemporary aesthetics, the beauty of precision-made detailing, and the luxury of quiet simplicity that disappears in use. It demonstrates that conceptual clarity and careful choice of proportion and finish are often all that is needed to achieve elegant results.
Such a simple construction is made possible by application of subtle innovation – a clever panel sandwich that makes the structure strong enough without the need for thicker, bulkier panels or the excessive weight and expense of using solid sheet metal. The top and under frame rails are made from standard 1” MDF sheet, but the panel legs were produced with a novel sandwich construction of HDF wood composite “skins” and an HPL core. After initial testing, this was determined necessary to provide adequate stiffness and stability; plus the surface hardness required to stop the assembly bolt heads compacting into the material. Two custom steel brackets were designed so they could encompass all points of connection for assembly. Polished stainless steel bolt heads articulate the construction while hinting at a touch of luxury and ornament; like the screws of a Swiss watch.
The table is finished with an impeccable high- gloss car paint, hand sprayed in three coats at a local auto-body shop that renovates classic cars. The color is under-coat grey – perfectly in the middle of the spectrum between black and white. It is neutral yet luxurious. The glossy lacquer embodies the luxury associated with vintage cars, but also has the precision of a perfectly flat unblemished surface, even when done in a perfectly neutral grey paint. T-Table is of course also reminiscent of similar super-minimalistic design first produced by companies like Cappellini and Driade in the late 80s and 90s. Luxurious materiality coupled with radical simplicity; contextual innovation pushed to the forefront. EDITS’ T-table is an homage to this wonderful period in design history that bore the likes of Morrison, Lissoni, and Kuramata. T-table is presented in the same spirit of contextual relevance (rather than “anti-design design”), while proposing the potential for something new.
Photography by Conrad Brown
