Living Table
Furniture as memorabilia
For our Product Design senior capstone, my team and I created Living Table - a furniture piece intended to grow with you. We wanted to reimagine the idea of what furniture as memorabilia could look like. During our user interview phase, we were moved by the stories we heard about people keeping furniture when it held sentimental value and wondered how, we too, could give furniture a story.
After 6 months of ideating and prototyping, we developed Living Table. It is a 4-person dining table that celebrates both the present and past through the decoration of the table. On the tabletop, there are through-holes to place flowers and a vase directly underneath to keep them watered. On the table’s borders, there are recessed pockets covered by glass panels to place flowers that were once the centerpiece, photos from a dinner party with friends, and whatever items honor a memory or just feels right.
We felt that the dining table is a gathering place where special moments are shared with others. In the moment, the table is a reminder to be in the moment and celebrate life. As time goes on, the table is like a living record of cherished memories. We felt that Living Table was an appropriate response to nourishing bonds and instilling sentiment in your surrondings.
As I am interested in becoming a better woodworker, I led the table’s manufacturing. I learned how to use the ShopBot and was involved in every aspect of the table’s production: jointing, planing, glue up, CNCing, sanding, staining and assembly.
For our Product Design senior capstone, my team and I created Living Table - a furniture piece intended to grow with you. We wanted to reimagine the idea of what furniture as memorabilia could look like. During our user interview phase, we were moved by the stories we heard about people keeping furniture when it held sentimental value and wondered how, we too, could give furniture a story.
After 6 months of ideating and prototyping, we developed Living Table. It is a 4-person dining table that celebrates both the present and past through the decoration of the table. On the tabletop, there are through-holes to place flowers and a vase directly underneath to keep them watered. On the table’s borders, there are recessed pockets covered by glass panels to place flowers that were once the centerpiece, photos from a dinner party with friends, and whatever items honor a memory or just feels right.
We felt that the dining table is a gathering place where special moments are shared with others. In the moment, the table is a reminder to be in the moment and celebrate life. As time goes on, the table is like a living record of cherished memories. We felt that Living Table was an appropriate response to nourishing bonds and instilling sentiment in your surrondings.
As I am interested in becoming a better woodworker, I led the table’s manufacturing. I learned how to use the ShopBot and was involved in every aspect of the table’s production: jointing, planing, glue up, CNCing, sanding, staining and assembly.
