Concrete Side Table – Distressed Graphite or Sandy Grey Finish

Concrete in two surfaces: Distressed Graphite, dark and worked to look weathered, and Textured Sandy Grey, paler and closer to raw cast concrete. Both keep the material's own irregularity rather than polishing it away.

Cast concrete takes its surface from the mold, so texture is decided at the moment of casting and cannot be applied afterward. That also means small voids and color variation are properties of the material rather than defects in it. Concrete is strong in compression and weak in tension, which is why a concrete table is built with mass rather than with slender legs, and why it weighs what it does for its size. The surface is also mineral rather than coated, so heat from a mug does not affect it.

A concrete table anchors a room full of soft furnishings, and it holds its own beside leather and wool. Graphite works in a dark scheme and reads almost black under low light; Sandy Grey suits a room with pale walls, where its texture stays legible rather than disappearing into shadow.

• Material: Concrete
• Finishes: Distressed Graphite, Textured Sandy Grey