Due to their function as visual centerpieces in a room, coffee tables often have elaborate and sophisticated designs that catch your attention and enhance the ambiance. They often also have some form of storage space to keep books and magazines within easy reach, though other objects also find their way there over time. It’s a piece of furniture that often combines function and form beautifully, yielding varied designs that span styles, materials, and themes.
Although there’s definitely nothing wrong with those designs, sometimes coffee tables have become a bit too complicated visually and functionally to the point that they become distractions. Rather than serving as a means to get people together, they become the end in themselves. That’s why this concept design for a simple yet pleasing coffee table feels like a breath of fresh air for keeping all those extraneous details down to a minimum.
Designer: Denis Zarembo
At first glance, the ALVO coffee table doesn’t even look like a table from certain angles, especially when the transparent glass tabletop isn’t clearly visible. It almost looks like one of those old wooden toys that try to mimic the general form of some quadruped animal, namely a horse, with its thin four legs and equally thin body. The coffee table doesn’t just shave off features, it even shaves off plenty of materials, effectively reducing material waste.
ALVO is a bit deceptive to some extent, though probably not by intention. Again from certain angles, it almost looks like it has a rather full body, but the reality is that it only has a simple wooden beam that spans its length. It creates the illusion of volume, which could cause a bit of delight when the viewer realizes the truth up close.
The table’s very basic design also means that there is no room for storing anything inside hidden drawers or compartments. The only place to put books, phones, and cups is on that clear tabletop, and probably not permanently for lack of space. It might be considered a disadvantage, but it also forces people to be more selective and intentional about what they put down on its surface.
By stripping away everything except the bare necessities, the ALVO coffee table concept exposes only what is absolutely necessary for a functional and aesthetic piece of furniture. Laying everything bare leaves no room for any object out of place, reducing the opportunities for accumulating clutter and losing things inside hidden spaces. It may be too plain for some people’s tastes, but it’s also quite a striking complement to any minimalist interior.
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