Geometric coffee tables use 3D printing robots and recycled plastic to create organic forms

3D printing has come a long way, but unless you’re using industrial printers in large factories, you’re probably limited to creating small designs or just parts of a whole. That, unfortunately, means that creators and makers aren’t able to fully express their ideas and designs, at least not those that involve pieces that can’t fit inside a commercial 3D printer. That said, you don’t have to give up your creative freedom to use an expensive production line if you can put 3D printing robots to smart use, like this sustainable plastic coffee table that is able to form organic geometric forms just by making the robot arm loop round and round.

Designer: Martin Zampach

When people think of 3D printers, they most likely think of those boxy contraptions sitting on tables, with nozzles that quickly run back and forth while oozing out hot plastic material in order to build up a three-dimensional object almost like from thin air. While this is the most common and most convenient kind of 3D printing, it has severe limitations in the size or shape of the object being made, basically anything that can fit the area and height of the printer.

LOOPS is a collection of coffee tables conceived to push the envelope of 3D printing and create objects that are larger than normal without requiring additional hardware. An industrial 3D printing robot pretty much goes round and round to create the base shape, building layer after layer of composite material until the desired form is achieved. This is the process used for creating the base of these tables, allowing the designer to apply different geometric shapes with organic forms that look like they’re literally growing before your very eyes.

The coffee tables are more than just experiments in 3D printing, they are also testaments to beautiful sustainable design. Tabletops are made from 100% recycled plastic that is crushed, melted, and then moulded from used plastic. The 3D printed bases, on the other hand, are made from composite material containing cellulose from responsible forestry. When the tables reach the end of their use, both the base and the top can be recycled or reused to extend their life in a different way.

The LOOPS coffee table collection offers a unique and novel design that pushes the boundaries of 3D printing to produce beautiful shapes and textures that almost resemble traditional ceramic creations. The variety of recycled plastics used gives each tabletop a unique appearance, both in color as well as in texture. The minimalist yet elegant designs make the coffee tables the perfect artistic centerpieces for any space, offering a thought-provoking design that opens your mind to the possibilities of sustainable 3D printing.

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This Coffee Table + Stool Set Are As Light & Weightless As They Are Resistant & Strong

One of the most important elements of a home will always be the furniture that’s placed in it. The furniture in a home can either make or break it! The right kind of furniture design can create the essence and soul of a home. And I do feel it’s essential that the soul of our home is a reflection of our own soul. Hence picking furniture pieces that bring out the best in our homes, while authentically representing our personality is a must. You need to pick designs that are fun, sophisticated, and functional. They add an extra spark to your home, without compromising on utility in the least. And the R24 Coffee Table and Stool are a unique furniture duo that would be an excellent addition to your modern home.

Designer: Paula Valentini

Argentinian architect Paula Valentini merged her training and experiences in art and urban planning to design the R24 Coffee Table and Stool. Created for GANDIABLASCO, the two-piece set has a sculptural and almost artistic appeal to it. The architect attempted to explore textile architecture on a smaller scale through the coffee table and stool. “The image of the weightlessness of bodies held in space and the intention to explore structural fabrics became the guiding light of the project. Through R24 I evoke sensations and images like the evanescence of a bailiff’s wing. It is a useful object and it is also a work in space,” said Valentini.

The R24 Coffee Table and Stool are now a part of GANDIABLASCO’s outdoor furniture catalog, although they were initially designed in exchange with the Museum of Contemporary Art of Buenos Aires and its collection of abstraccíon geométrica. The goal was to create lightweight furniture pieces that are also extremely resistant and durable. To achieve this goal, Valentini dematerialized the edges and substructures and avoided brace rings. She provided the furniture designs with ethereal support and imparted them with an appearance of continuity. This, in turn, produced degrees of opacity and creates the image of a kaleidoscopic structure when the stools are stacked upon one another. “The pieces of the R24 series stand out for their open and slender weave and are surprising for their ability to support a weight close to one hundred times their own,” concluded Valentini.

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Playful coffee table concept brings Piet Mondrian’s three colors to your home

Coffee tables, sofas, side tables, and shelves have all become points of interest and pride these days. Since they usually become the visual centers of a room, owners take the opportunity to use furniture that either reflects their interests and personality or, at the very least, shows off their design tastes. The variety of designs for tables and chairs can range from the ultra-minimalist to the highly elaborate, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. You don’t have to go overboard, however, just to make a memorable impact. This table, for example, is nothing but a few circles, one of which isn’t even full, and three colors, but the asymmetric combination gives it a vibrant and playful character, especially once you start looking at it from different angles.

Designer: Miguel Pinheira

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Dutch artist Pier Mondrian showed that it doesn’t take much to leave a lasting impression. His famed “Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow” simply used three colors, aside from black and white, and asymmetrical shapes to create a masterpiece that would be remembered for decades. This harmony of contrasts and economy of colors are what inspired this peculiar table design, resulting in a piece that, while artistic, also conveys some of that tension between elements in a lively manner.

Instead of squares, the RYB Coffee Table uses two circles and a half circle joined by transparent rods that make the circles look as if they’re floating on air. The three pieces serve different functions, like a tabletop, a secondary table, and a magazine or vinyl record holder. The top circle can even be removed and placed in a different position, making the design a bit modular.

While the main parts can be made of different materials and use a monochromatic scheme, the best effect is achieved with translucent or transparent material and sticking to the original red, yellow, and blue triplet. This particular combination really brings out the table’s personality, making it look like hard candy or stained glass. Even better, looking at the different pieces through each other can bring out other colors, like green resulting from mixing yellow and blue.

In terms of functionality, however, the RYB Coffee Table is probably better as a side table, though it will still manage to grab anyone’s attention, regardless of its location. Its arrangement makes it look a little unbalanced visually, which could make some people hesitate to put anything fragile on top. That’s also why it’s probably better off to the side rather than as a centerpiece, lending a bit of vibrancy and life to the room without getting in the way.

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Unique table designed with loads of storage space that furniture lovers will be absolutely smitten with

If you’ve ever even remotely spent time in the furniture design world on Instagram, then you’ve for sure come across Deniz Aktay. His simple, minimal, yet genius furniture pieces have slowly but surely taken the IG world by storm. The success of his designs lies in the fact that they’re oh-so-simple, elegant, and yet packed with massive functionality. The simplicity will almost make you wonder ‘Why didn’t I think of this?’, but unfortunately for us and luckily for Aktay, no one else can conjure these designs up except him. He’s created wonders – from a unique bookshelf that functions as a side table to a coffee table design with intriguing layers. And his ‘Overlap’ table is a creation I’m currently completely smitten by!

Designer: Deniz Aktay

A table is a pretty important addition to any living space – whether it’s a side, coffee, or console table! Once the perfect table has been set, you can start building the rest of the space around it – a comfy sofa, cute chairs, exquisite lighting, and elegant decorative pieces. Now what I absolutely love about the Overlap table is that it seems like a pretty versatile one! It looks commanding and functional enough to work as a coffee table, and also compact and cute enough to be used as a side table. And I truly appreciate how the simple design prioritizes storage – something that modern homeowners will appreciate as well, considering the space constraint issues we all face nowadays.

Deniz describes the Overlap table as a ‘table-storage design’, which quite simply explains what the piece of furniture is. Overlap basically comprises of two rotated wooden boxes that have been artfully joined and intertwined together to create a sturdy table that can also be used as a storage space. The design has a geometrically intriguing form with the wooden box at the back swinging and extended out to form the tabletop. While the other wooden box solely functions as a nifty storage unit and provides support to the tabletop placed on it.

Both the wooden boxes come together to create one homogenous unit that has been constructed craftily to form a nuanced design that provides an ample amount of storage while occupying a minimum amount of space itself. The well-designed table/storage design can be fit into the tiny corners of your home, or placed as a centerpiece in your living room.

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Duffy London sustainable coffee table is inspired by candies and aliens

When grownups talk about aliens and flying saucers, they often imagine eerie creatures and skin-crawling aerial vehicles that sometimes induce nightmares. Kids, in contrast, probably have more fun ideas about these otherworldly creatures, conjuring up images filled with all the colors of the rainbow. In the midst of all the hustle and bustle of modern life, we sometimes find ourselves reminiscing those figuratively and literally sweet days of our childhood, free to let our imaginations fly and come up with the most creative answers to the mysteries of the universe. Now you don’t have to wait for stress to make you long for those sugar-infused days with this coffee table that transports you to the past while keeping a close watch on the future of the planet.

Designer: Duffy London

Although they are known to be terrible for our teeth and our long-term health, there’s just no escaping the fact that sweets, especially bright-colored candy, can evoke feelings of joy and fun, calling to mind the simpler days of our childhood. Even things that would normally instill fear or dread are made less menacing when transformed into candies and marshmallows, whether they’re monsters, ghosts, or aliens. That’s why even if the shapes refer to extraterrestrial transportation, the Flying Saucer Coffee Table remains firmly rooted in the harmless, candy-filled tradition of Earthlings.

The entire ensemble is made up of three large UFO shapes in tasty candy colors holding aloft an even larger glass disc that serves as the tabletop. The combination, especially if viewed from the top, is reminiscent of those glass jars holding innumerable gobstoppers that make our mouths water at the mere sight of them. Beneath the UFOs is a steel base plate that creates a perpetual shadow for the flying candies, regardless of the light source.

Candy-like objects are often made from plastic, and the Flying Saucer Coffee Table is no different. What makes it different is that all the thermoformed plastic used in the product is sourced from recycled materials, particularly from food packaging that makes up about 75% of London’s domestic plastic waste. In that sense, the coffee table is an almost ironic reminder to mind the planet we’re on, even while looking to the heavens for inspiration.

The Flying Saucer Coffee Table is another striking addition to Duffy London’s “art-as-furniture” collection, composed of eye-catching yet functional pieces that bring life to any space in more ways than one. Rather than an otherworldly atmosphere that the UFO shapes might suggest, the table’s whimsical design encourages onlookers to live life to the fullest, sprinkle a bit of joy and child-like wonder into their life, and maybe even get a sweet treat once in a while.

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Gorgeous gem-like coffee tables might make you feel like grabbing a soda

It might not have been the original intention, but coffee tables have pretty much become more decorative than functional these days. Of course, they still serve as tables you put things on, including your coffee, but they are mostly designed to have more visual impact these days. It’s not unusual for this kind of table to have some eye-catching shape or color or both, acting as a center of attraction as well as a conversation starter. These glass-blown coffee tables are perfect examples of such furniture, capturing your visitors’ eyes, imaginations, and probably even appetites with their elegant forms, gem-like colors, and dynamic surfaces that may entice you to pour yourself a bubbly drink.

Designer: Yiannis Ghikas

A glass table might not be the most practical piece of furniture because of its fragility, especially if the entire table, including the legs, is made up of that material. Things get even more complicated if you’re attempting to make a sizable table out of a single piece of glass that is air-blown like traditional glass pieces. It’s that technical difficulty that makes the Soda coffee tables all the more impressive and mind-blowing, pretty much like a glass-blown art piece.

The production of such a masterpiece is no easy feat. It’s made upside-down, blown from a single glass volume, and shaped by no less than three master glassmakers. Complicating things further is that while the tabletop is a conventional circle, the stem is formed into three intersecting circles that resemble the petals of a flower. That unusual shape not only provides a beautiful form but also helps spread the weight around.

Unlike what you might expect from a glass table, the Soda coffee table isn’t completely smooth, at least not visually. The top has a hammered surface that seems to freeze ripples in time. It creates an impression of dynamism and almost literal vibrancy, almost like a colored drink that bubbles and ripples at the slightest movement. It reflects and refracts light in seemingly random and interesting ways as if the table is a gigantic drinking glass with soda trapped inside for eternity.

Soda is more than just an elegant coffee table. It’s also an exercise in pushing the envelope of a glass-blown design, especially when it comes to large proportions and complicated shapes. The result is a beautiful piece of furniture that’s no different from a piece of sculptural art that combines a play of light and colors that will surely make you the talk of the neighborhood.

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This exquisite coffee table was built using lava stone + paper rope dyed with madder roots

I believe that the secret to a great living room is an excellent coffee table. Coffee tables function as the centerpiece of a living room, hence you need to pick one that truly livens it up, and sets the tone for it. And, once the perfect coffee table has been set, you can start building the rest of the space around it – a comfy sofa, cute side tables, exquisite lighting, and elegant decorative pieces. They are all brought together by the right coffee table! And even coffee tables are getting more innovative, unique, and well-crafted by the day! And one such coffee table is the Lava Table by design studio Matang.

Designer: Matang for Galerie Revel

Design studio Matang designed this beautiful coffee table called the Lava Table for Galerie Revel. The stunning coffee table features an earthy color palette and a unique tabletop that’s been made from lava stone. Rightfully called Lava, the coffee table has an enameled piece of lava stone embedded in its tabletop. The lava stone has been sourced from a volcano in France.

The exquisite lava stone on the top is accentuated by the base which is built using burnt cedar, which is further wrapped in cotton rope. The cotton rope is hand-dyed using madder root, creating a mesmerizing effect that pairs up well with the lava stone. The Lava Table is meant to be utilized as a coffee table and comes in three sizes with diameters of 60,90 and 115 centimeters.

“These pieces of furniture want to express the potentiality of plants, creating a sensitive structure but also vibrant colors. Wood, roots, flowers, and fibers are transformed in Matang’s objects, revealing a palette of colors rooted in plants,” said Galerie Revel. And we couldn’t agree more. Matang’s use of natural materials in furniture pieces is truly worth applauding. The materials are treated with love and care, allowing them to artfully shine through, without weighing them down with unnecessary bells and tassels. The Lava Table’s aesthetics are quite bold and unique, so mind you, it won’t merge into any living space without a protest, it deserves a living room perfectly curated to allow it to shine!

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This collection of sustainable tables was built from a sea plant and named after mythological Greek sea nymphs

Tables are often underestimated when in reality they can add a whole depth of personality and character to your living space – whether it’s a great coffee table, a nifty side table, or a console that will hold your favorite souvenirs. But finding the right table can be a task. Luckily we came across a cool collection of tables called Oceanides. Designed by Alexia Mintsouli for UK studio Alexa Mint, Oceanides is a collection of tables made from sea plants and marble.

Designer: Alexia Mintsouli for Alexa Mint 

The innovative collection includes a square coffee table and two round side tables. One of the side tables features four legs, while the other features a solid base. Peloponnesian Tortora marble was used to craft the base and legs of the table, while the brown-colored tabletops were built using a sea plant that imparts the table with a natural pattern variation.”The top of the tables are from the sea plant Posidonia Oceanica, one of the oldest living organisms on Earth,” said Alex Mint. Until recently, the sea plant was disposed of as waste, but now it has a newfound purpose.

“In order to make living spaces greener, we are exploring the potential of natural materials in the creation of eco-friendly, modern furniture. We try to follow the ecological guidelines by using eco-friendly, local materials and collaborating with Greek craftsmen to eliminate the energy consumption that goes into transportation,” continued the brand. The Oceanides tables are heavily inspired by the sea breeze, and they were all designed with an aim to promote sustainability and earth preservation.

The eco-friendly tables are designed to be not only sustainable but luxurious as well, and they are driven by the brand’s love for all things sustainable. The local Greek craftsmen were involved in the process, hence giving the local economy a boost as well. The story behind the name ‘Oceanides’ is quite interesting as well. The name was inspired by the sea plant that was used to build the tables – Posidonia Oceanica. And according to Greek mythology, the Oceanides were mythological sea nymphs, daughters of the Titan Oceanus, the great primordial world-encircling river, and Tethys, a sea goddess.

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Coffee table concept adds a revolving handle to hold your glass or lamp

Table space is often very precious, especially for smaller furniture that’s often a bit more decorative than functional. Coffee tables, for example, don’t have much space for a lot of stuff, limiting their use when it comes to work. You can place a laptop, maybe a notebook or two, and then suddenly find yourself out of a safe space for that coffee from which the table gets its name. It’s even worse when the table is a circle because there’s less surface area compared to a square tabletop. Of course, you should probably work at a desk or a larger table, but some public spaces prefer these round and more attractive designs. It doesn’t have to be an either-or situation, and this table design concept tries to make room for all the essentials without forgetting the most important thing of all: coffee.

Designer: Liza Chernova

Coffee tables are a bit of an amusing misnomer since their earliest known ancestors were made to hold tea cups rather than coffee. Today, the typical coffee tables are large and low pieces of furniture that occupy a central place in living rooms, and they’re meant to hold not only beverages of any kind but also books, remote controls, and even knickknacks. There are some coffee tables, however, that are literally what they’re called, tables with regular heights used for holding your favorite blend and maybe even working for a bit.

Things can get cramped easily with you have both drinks and work competing over a small area. It might even become precarious, as evidenced by so many anecdotes of spilled beverages over papers or, worse, laptops. This table design idea solves that problem by giving beverages a more special place that sort of puts them on a pedestal while also keeping your work safe.

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Named after Russian rotary dials, Vertushka puts a similar mechanism at the service of your coffee. An arm protrudes out of and over the table, creating a safe location to place a drink away from whatever else is on the table. Plus, it also frees up space for more of your stuff instead of forcing yourself to clear out an unobstructed space around your cup. That said, that’s not the only thing that this coffee table is able to do. That “handle” can revolve around the edge, giving you more freedom where to place your beverage.

That revolving handle is actually more than just a drink holder, though. The design also includes a multi-angle lamp to shed more light on what you’re working on without taking up precious table space. In theory, this could be expanded to support a modular system for anything you need to be at arm’s reach but doesn’t need to actually be on the table. Vertushka offers that flexibility without changing the coffee table’s minimalist design substantially, letting you keep your work safe while sipping your favorite beverage.

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This side and coffee tables have sustainability and simplicity ingrained in their DNA

Once upon a time, buying a table involved troublesome and inconvenient shipping arrangements because the furniture either comes pre-assembled or didn’t have any way to disassemble it anyway. These days, however, it has become trendy to buy flat-packed furniture, especially if they come with minimalist designs. These are easier to transport, sometimes by the buyers themselves, and are possible to take apart store away when they’re no longer needed. The trade-off, however, is often the complexity and difficulty of assembling the things on your own. Fortunately, more creative furniture designers have come up with new ways to simplify that process, and these wooden tables demonstrate how an easier process doesn’t exactly make the furniture less stable.

Designer: Ivan Nuño

Thanks to the prevalence of minimalist designs and the popularity of stores like IKEA, it isn’t uncommon these days for many people to prefer tables and chairs that arrive at their doorsteps in pieces. Logistics like transportation and storage can be cheaper, and it’s also not that much work for those already used to putting things together themselves by hand. The latter, however, doesn’t cover the majority of buyers that need simpler steps to follow. Unfortunately, simplicity can sometimes also mean fragility, and some might find their tables loosening in critical areas.

To correct that problem, Studio Nuño designed a new type of joinery that it says reduces the assembly time down to just a few minutes while still maintaining structural strength to bear the weight of everyday use. You simply insert the legs into the slots beneath the tabletop, slide in a supporting piece, and screw that piece down with an Allen wrench. The legs come in three or four distinct pieces for the side table and coffee table, respectively, so there are no confusing angles or combinations to worry about.

Although not an inherent property of flat-pack design, many products that come in this form often have a pinch of sustainable design as well. Studio Nuño, however, takes it to a whole new level by making sure both the product and its packaging are environment-friendly. The wood for the tables, for example, is made from Baltic birch plywood coated with high-pressure laminate made from recycled materials, while the joinery uses recycled steel. The packaging is devoid of single-use plastic, using 100% recycled and biodegradable materials. It even uses eco-friendly tape to keep things together.

Studio Nuño’s tables don’t skimp on the aesthetics either, fully embracing a minimalist design that blends well with any theme you might have running in your home. Simple and sustainable, this coffee and side table pair offers a fresh look at how furniture doesn’t have to be complicated to be beautiful or sturdy. At the same time, its simple assembly also proves that you don’t have to sweat too much to have a sturdy and reliable table for your use, whatever that may be.

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