Octagonal Table and Chairs
This table with eight chairs was designed for 120 Pall Mall in 1928. The building was designed as a showroom and offices for Crane Bennett
Limited, a manufacturer of top quality baths and plumbing, and as such
was one of Lutyens's relatively few ventures into designing commercial
premises. The table and chairs were intended for the boardroom, and the
originals were photographed in place shortly after completion of the
building. At what point they disappeared or where they are now is not
clear as the building has been refitted several times since the war.
The design of this set of furniture is very characteristic both of
Lutyens's delight in 'games' in the way the chairs fit flush with each
other as well as with the sides of the table, and his love and
manipulation of geometric shapes as evidenced by the interlocking
circles forming the chair backs. This motif also occurs in some Lutyens
houses in designs for windows, most particularly at Ashwell Bury (1922)
and at a small lodge on the Gledstone estate (1923).
The octagonal table is made from walnut with a panelled veneered top
designed in such a way that the grain direction of the surface
describes the surface underneath. Each chair, with its fretted back and
front panel is also in walnut with a cane seat.
The Octagonal table and
chairs can also be made in oak or cedar for
outdoor use.
| Octagonal Chair | | | Octagonal Table |
 |
| width : | | 700mm
/ 2' 3" | | | width : | | 1680mm
/ 5' 6" |
 |
| height : | | 980mm
/ 3' 2" | | | height : | | 980mm
/ 3' 2" |
View Octagonal garden furniture |