Side Tables

Most of this collection is mother of pearl inlay, and it's the reason to shop here rather than somewhere else. Each table is finished by hand. Fragments of shell are laid into a mosaic, checkered or grid pattern and set in resin, so no two surfaces catch the light the same way. The effect shifts through the day as the light moves around the room. 

The patterns vary more than you'd expect. Checkered and grid designs read as graphic and contemporary, which suits a modern lounge with clean lines. Floral and mosaic inlays feel softer and more decorative, and they sit well with linen and timber. Cylinder profiles are the most sculptural of the lot, a solid column of shell with no visible base, useful where a slim-legged table would look fussy. 

Colours run from cream and mocha through white, beige, black, gold and multicolour. Diameters are 35cm, 36cm, 38cm, 40cm and 48cm, so there's one for a tight armchair corner and one for beside a three-seater. Weight capacity goes up to 60kg, which is plenty for a heavy table lamp. For inlay beyond side tables, have a look at our mother of pearl collection . 

A side table earns its keep outdoors as much as it does in a lounge. Somewhere to put a drink beside an outdoor armchair, a plant on a balcony, a candle on a covered deck. The trouble is that most side tables aren't built for it. Timber swells, veneer lifts, and shell inlay has no business out in the weather. 

Concrete is the material that solves this. Our round concrete side tables are made for indoor and outdoor use, in white and antique white, with enough weight to stay put in a breeze and a surface that shrugs off a spilled drink. They work on a balcony, in a covered alfresco area or on a patio, and they look just as good brought back inside beside a sofa. 

Travertine comes as a concrete finish rather than natural stone. You get the warm, lightly pitted look of quarried travertine with concrete's durability underneath, which is what makes it suitable outdoors when real travertine wouldn't be. 

Pair either with our outdoor furniture range if you want the look to carry across the threshold. We'd keep the mother of pearl and timber-based designs inside. 

Porcelain and sintered stone tops sit on natural or walnut timber bases at 50cm, the largest diameter in the range and the most practical if the table has to hold a lamp as well as a drink. Both surfaces are fired at high temperature, so they handle heat, scratches and stains better than natural stone. A hot mug or a spilled glass of red isn't a problem. 

On sizing, height matters more than anything else. Our tables stand at around 46cm, which sits level with or just below most sofa and armchair armrests. That's the position that makes a table comfortable to reach from where you're sitting instead of something you have to lift over. Measure your armrest before you choose, because this is the detail people most often get wrong. 

Diameter is about the gap you're filling. At 35cm to 38cm you get a slim footprint beside an armchair or in a corner without crowding the walkway. At 40cm to 50cm there's room for a lamp, a book and a cup together, which suits the end of a longer sofa. 

Round and cylinder profiles have no corners to catch a shin, so they're easier in narrow layouts. If you're using one as a sofa table, put it at the arm rather than behind the back, within reach from where you actually sit. 

A side table is the smallest piece in a lounge and often the one that pulls the scheme together. The simplest approach is to echo something already in the room. A mother of pearl inlay table picks up on metallic lamp bases and mirror frames. A stone top speaks to a stone or sintered benchtop. Concrete sits comfortably with rugs in natural fibres. 

You don't have to match your coffee table exactly. A deliberate contrast often works better. A patterned inlay side table beside a plain timber coffee table gives the eye somewhere to land, where two matching pieces can read as flat. 

Keep the surface sparse. A lamp, one object and room for a cup is usually enough. A side table that's fully covered stops being useful. If you're styling beside an accent chair rather than a sofa, a smaller 35cm design keeps the proportion right.