It’s been a while since I’ve done a ‘Your Home Needs This’ feature here, I had such good intentions of keeping it a regular series, as happens with all these things… But, a visit to the fantastic World of Charles and Ray Eames exhibition at the Barbican Art Gallery last weekend reminded me to get back on track, and profile another must-have design object that is on my wishlist or in my own home. It could easily have been an Eames lounge chair or the playful plastic DAW chair, but this time my eyes settled on the Eames’s Occasional Table LTR, still in production by Vitra.
Designed in 1950, the Occasional Table is petite (just 25cms high) but perfectly formed. It’s comprised of a rod base supporting a plywood tabletop, traditionally covered in black or white laminate. During the late 1940s, Charles noted ‘the fantastic things being made of wire’ and began experimenting with metal wire rods and mesh. The Eameses eventually developed a mass-production technique for simultaneously welding wire rods. It was first used for their large lounge chair and plywood chairs (the DCM and LCM) as well as for a competition to design low-cost furniture at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1948, before taking shape in the form of the Occasional Table LTR, seen below.
I think it’s an extremely versatile little addition to any home: they can stand individually next to a sofa, perfect for propping up a magazine or resting a cup of coffee. They can also be lined up to form a coffee table, used as a bedside table next to a low bed, or stacked up one on top of the other. So Santa, if you’re listening it’s on my Christmas wishlist…!
What do you think of the Eames Occasional Table?
Also –> The World of Charles and Ray Eames exhibition at the Barbican is a must-visit for any design lover. A vast, all-encompassing show, it portrays how the husband and wife duo moved fluidly between the fields of furniture design, architecture, photography, film and communication. There’s the usuals suspects – their moulded plywood chairs and Case Study House no. 8 – but there’s also deeply personal letters, photographs, test pieces and models. It’s on until the 14 February 2016.
