Steel and Wood Side Table – White Oak or Walnut Colorway

Steel and wood, with the wood in White Oak or Walnut. Steel here is structural rather than decorative: it lets the table's supporting members be far thinner than wood ones of the same strength, so the piece reads as a light open frame holding a surface up.

Combining the two materials lets each do what it is best at. Steel resists bending in a thin section and holds a fixed geometry, so it will not loosen the way a wood joint eventually can. The wood provides the surface, which is the part that gets touched and looked at. The junction between them is the detail that matters, since steel and wood move at different rates as temperature and humidity change.

It works next to an upholstered chair where a heavier table would crowd the seat, and in a small room where an open frame keeps the floor visible underneath.

• Materials: Steel and wood
• Wood: White Oak or Walnut