Many of Poul Henningsen’s furniture designs are based on the concept of curved tubular steel: such iconic Poul Henningsen pieces include the PH Snake Chair and PH Snake Stool, the PH Office Desk, the PH Lounge Chair, the PH Chair and the PH Pope Chair. Complementary to these is the PH Dining Table, which also features chromed tubular steel legs to create a timeless design for a dining table that is both practical and elegant.
Poul Henningsen favoured the idea that there should be clear delineation between what is being carried and what is carrying across all his furniture designs. As such, PH was committed to the creation of furniture with legs that are as minimal as possible and that they themselves are carefully crafted to be aesthetically pleasing. PH explored the idea of furniture that appeared almost to be ‘floating’ and where the legs of his furniture designs are visible, they should be an interesting feature in themselves. The Poul Henningsen designed PH Dining Table is no exception to this.
The simple chromed steel legs are affixed at an angle to provide stability while also allowing guests sitting at the PH Dining Table optimal room for movement and to give maximum flexibility of seating arrangements. In line with the superior attention to the small design details that PH felt so important, the legs of the PH Dining Table do not simply meet the ground at the bottom: rather the curved sphere at the base of the legs means that there is minimal connectivity with the floor. This further supports the visual illusion of a table that almost appears to float, creating a sense of lightness.
The optional extension leaf that can be incorporated within the table to hang neatly beneath the centre or removed altogether when not in use ensures that the PH Dining Table is perfect for every occasion, no matter how many people are seated around it. When designing furniture, the starting point for Poul Henningsen was always with functionality in mind: the optional extension leaf within the PH Dining Table is produced to be lightweight and easy to manoeuvre to ease the transition of the table from smaller to larger and back again as needed.The PH Dining Table produced by PH Furniture can be ordered with a table top in white laminate, natural or light oak and black oak, in three different sizes and with or without the extension system. Versatility is at the heart of the design ethos with which the PH Dining Table was created.
The PH Dining Table was designed in 1937, yet today is a wonderful example of furniture conceived in the Bauhaus and Mid-Century periods of design that translates perfectly in to the contemporary living environments of the 21st Century. Functional, versatile and unusually beautiful, the PH Dining Table now produced by PH Furniture is set to become an enduring favourite centre piece for the kitchen or dining room in many homes for decades ahead.