There are a lot of cool tables out there with designs more interesting and more unusual than you could probably imagine. There are a ton of things that can make a table design stand out. The shape is obviously one of them but so is the size, the color and the material or materials from which the table is made. On top of all these details, there are also a bunch of other features which can really make the difference between a mainstream table design and one that has what it takes to be special.

The beauty of these tables designed byJoanna Laajisto comes from its simplicity. The entire collection is based on the inspiration drawn from the design of traditional Scandinavian holiday cabins. Technically, the series includes two pieces: a bench and a side table. The bench, however, is actually multifunctional as it too can serve as a table is certain settings.

You can tell something is unusual just by looking at this table. It seems to be made of concrete but it has a design defines by soft and thin curves and undulating lines which are usually associated with fabric. It’s all explained by the nature of the material used: concrete cloth. It’s flexible and made from fabric impregnated with cement. DesignerNeal Aronowitz found a cool new use for it, creating this sculptural table after developing his own casting technique.

Expandable tables are highly practical and there are quite a few styles to choose from, each with a different mechanism or system. The drop-leaf table is probably the most common type of all. Today we’re introducing you to a new one, a concept developed byHeatherwick Studio. They designed a table built using slats made out of paper sheets solidified in resin, each pinned into place onto a frame and aligned to form a lattice. The lattice opens up as the table expands, allowing the shape to change from round to elliptical.

Meet the Edge table. As before, the beautiful thing about this table design is its overall simplicity and in particular the thin and slender lines which give this piece a lightweight and very chic look. The table is built out of three pieces of plate steel. Two of them form the base, with a central element connecting them and the third one is the rectangular top.

While metal in a table design is a good fit for industrial interior decors, wood is a good option for just about every other style. The versatility of the material allows it to be shaped into all sorts of beautiful forms and designs, like that of the Astral table for example. This is a pedestal dining table made out of contrasting tones of American black walnut.

Let’s now check out a console table, one with a simple but nevertheless interesting design, one inspired by the Italian design of the 1960s. The table is elongated and narrow and one has two tapered legs which seem to pour out of the top. The idea is to lean the table against a wall for stability. The Roma console is a good fit for spaces such as entryways, hallways but also living rooms or offices.

We don’t usually describe furniture pieces are being awkward but this time that’s actually the name of the collection. The Awkward Series designed by Jonathan Mizzi is a limited edition collection which includes a dining table for eight, a smaller dining table for 2 to 4 persons and a coffee table. The designs may look a bit familiar in a very abstract manner. That would be because the inspiration for the series was yoga.

One of the disadvantages of furniture these days is the fact that a lot of pieces are mass produced and thus they are all the same whereas handmade furniture is special and unique, featuring imperfections and all sorts of elements which ultimately give them character and help them tell a story. Well, that’s actually what makes the furniture from Thors-Design special. their tables are made from reclaimed wood and handcrafted. That gives them a lot of character and makes them eco-friendly at the same time.

Isn’t this table design cute? That base looks like the framework of crinoline petticoats. The table is designed byAlain Gilles. The base is made from bent metal and the top is made of solid wood. These two elements contrast with each other in an elegant manner. The fact that the top is anchored to the base into a single point at the center helps to ensure a lightweight appearance.

Another Brand also designed a pretty interesting series of tables. The thing that makes them special is the speckled design. Each of these tables has a pedestal base with a circular bottom and a cubic column which connects it to the circular top. The tables come in three sizes: large, medium and small. The speckled design is created by mixing marble offcuts into cement.

Sometimes tables make their way into offices where they serve as desks or as conference tables and in that case a good wire-management system can really come in handy. Of course, when you think about it, it would be useful to have such a feature on any table. Martin Solem designed the perfect system in this sense. This table has four tapered legs and each of them is molded into a U shape, offering space inside for storing, hiding and organizing wires.

Lately we’ve seen an increase in popularity when in comes to terrazzo which is a combination of scraps of marble and other materials (mainly concrete). The growing trend has reached the furniture world and one of the series which showcases the beauty of this material is designed byAlberto Bellamoli. These are the coffee tables included in the collection.

This is a table design that draws inspiration from shaker-style pantry boxes. It’s been designed by Pinch and it’s simple and straight-forward while at the same time very refined and elegant. The Rodan coffee table inspires through the familiarity of its overall design direction. The base is only slightly tapered towards the top which in turn is interesting through the fact that it has an edge and functions sort of like a giant tray.

The irregularity of the top makes the Tweed table intriguing and eye-catching in a very subtle and refined way. Of course, this is not the only funky detail about its design. Notice that the table has four legs which are not arranged in the usual manner. Two of them sustain the center while the other two are placed at the ends. This gives the tables a highly unusual allure.

Meet Lady Hio, a table that’s almost entirely transparent. It’s designed by Philippe Starck and S. Schito and its most notable design feature would have to be the blown glass legs complemented by brushed aluminum fixtures. Together with the tempered glass top they give the table a very delicate and lightweight appearance. Further more, the transparency ensures maximum versatility.

A car crash is not exactly a pretty sight. It is, however, an event that we’re naturally drawn to with images that get burnt into our minds. If we forget for a moment about all the consequences, the image of a burning car is quite poetical and artistic in its own way. It’s these characteristics that were immortalized by Studio Job into the design of the Car Crash table.

At first sight, it’s not really clear whether these furniture pieces are very spiky or very soft and plushy. A closer look reveals that they’re in fact covered in lots of beech rods. The collection is designed by Pia Maria Raeder and includes tables, chairs, poufs and a mirror, all resembling sea anemones. The rods are arranged at different levels, creating a sense of depth and giving the pieces undulating surfaces.

These tables have designs that are reminiscent of wood stumps but you can definitely tell that they’re not actually made of wood (not entirely at least). This is a series designed byUUfie. Each table is made from a slice of wood with tapered edges which blends into metal. They have slender legs facing outwards and their shapes are inspired by pebbles. You can find them in aluminum, copper and brass.

The irregularities of the design in the case of these tables are intentional, their role being to create the illusion of tables draped in silk. This unusual design direction is the creation ofOlga Bielawska who used slices of marble to combine black and white stripes and to create this eye-catching illusion.

We’re continuing the terrazzo trend with a very special table design created byBrodie Neill. We’re referring to the Gyro Table which is made out of fragments of recycled ocean plastic. Lots and lots of tiny pieces of plastic were salvaged from the beaches around the world and ended up in these amazing tables. They were first separated by color into piles of blue, black, brown and green chips.

This is the Metsidian table. It’s designed byJanne Kyttanen using explosion welding which is a technique that uses chemical explosives to bond materials which can’t normally be combined. In this case, the designer used the technique to meld together volcanic stone and a 3D-printed copper grid. Together they form a unique table which is part furniture and part sculpture.

There’s something odd about this side table and it has to do with its shape. The W1 table was designed by studio Moss & Lam using the traditional scagliola technique which involves blending plaster, pigment and glue to create a mix that resembles marble. This technique was used to create something really special. The table is shaped like an upside down urn and comes in three sizes and two main color themes: black and white.

Let’s now have a look at a table design which plays with transparency. This is the Sir Gio table designed by Philippe Starck. It has a base made of plastic and a top made of glass. The base is available in three shades and the top comes in five colors and that means that there are 15 possible combinations to choose from in total.

The Morgan Marble table designed by Rodolfo Dordoni brings a new feature to our attention: the option to add a lazy susan to the center of the top. This extra tier would have the same marble finish as the top and would be useful for serving or simply as a decorative element. Of course, there’s more to this table than just the top. the base is pretty cool too, featuring three slender diamond-shaped supports made of metal.

We’ll end this article with a touch of irony expressed in the design of the Cop table. The idea here is that the objects are not placed onto the table but it’s actually the other way around…well, design-wise at least. The table is designed by Roberto Pauli and features a base made up of four individual modules, each with shapes inspired by bottles or glasses. It’s like the top is the surface of a lake which depicts everything upside down.