The Etta Table
The Etta Table
An extending dining table crafted in English oak and ash, combining traditional joinery with clean proportions.
Project Summary:
The Etta Table is a bespoke extending dining table in English oak and ash, designed to seat four to six people with traditional joinery and clean proportions.
Project type: Made to order edition
Cost:
Lead time:
Location: North East
Client: Private
Scope of work: Extending dining table - seats 4-6
Materials: English oak and ash
Project info
The Etta Table was designed as a versatile extending dining table, combining traditional joinery with a clean, contemporary form. The brief was to create a table that could adapt easily to everyday use and larger gatherings, while remaining visually light and robust in construction. Designed to seat four to six people, the table offers flexibility without compromising proportion or clarity of design.
The version shown features a single extension leaf, allowing the table to expand comfortably when required. Non-extending and twin leaf versions are also available, offering further flexibility depending on the needs of the space. When not in use, the extension leaf stows neatly beneath the tabletop, maintaining a clean profile and ensuring the table remains practical and unobtrusive in its closed form.
The base of the table is constructed from English ash, formed as a trestle frame and joined using drawbored bridle joints. This traditional method of construction creates a strong mechanical connection, locking the joints tightly without reliance on fixings alone. All joints are further reinforced with through-bored dowels, ensuring long-term strength and stability. The trestle design provides excellent structural support while minimising the amount of material beneath the table, leaving generous legroom for seated users.
The tabletop is made from solid English oak and finished with breadboard ends. This construction allows the main field of the top to move naturally with seasonal changes in humidity, while the breadboards help keep the surface flat and true over time. The oak is carefully selected and laid out to achieve a balanced grain pattern, reinforcing the table’s sense of material honesty and durability.
Detailing throughout the Etta Table is deliberately restrained. The edges of the tabletop are finished with crisp chamfers, softening the profile without detracting from the clarity of the form. Elegant tapers are introduced to the feet and the underside supports of the top, reducing visual weight and contributing to the table’s balanced proportions. These subtle refinements ensure the table feels considered from every angle, whether viewed up close or across the room.
The trestle legs are positioned to maximise seating flexibility, allowing chairs to be placed freely along the length of the table. This makes the table equally suited to family dining, entertaining or more formal settings, without imposing awkward constraints on how it is used.
The Etta Table is defined by proper traditional joinery, executed with exacting attention to detail. Rather than relying on decorative elements, the character of the piece comes from its construction, proportions and material quality. Designed and made to endure, the table offers a practical, adaptable solution for modern living while remaining rooted in time-honoured furniture making principles.
