Customer Reviews

500 Tables: Inspiring Interpretations of Function and Style (500 Series)

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a maker myself I am inspired, and believe that more people will be aware that furniture does not have to come from a huge manufacturer to be GOOD STUFF!! Can't get too much exposure. I wish I had submitted some of my tables!!!

I own 500 Chairs: Celebrating Traditional & Innovative Designs (500 Series) and have been eagerly awaiting this new book's release, and I think 500 Tables is even better than that earlier (and terrific) one in this series. They pair together fantastically well. The tables of more than 300 artist-craftspeople (both master furniture makers and students) are included. Some feature classic forms, others shockingly inventive riffs on them. Most, although not all, of the pieces are wood-centric. Most of the photography is very good, although some is a bit out of focus and I wish fewer photos were trimmed right to the table without having more "breathing" room. Nonetheless, the works featured are inspiring, mind-opening, and sometimes quite humorous (intentionally so, I hope!). The book was juried by Andrew Glasgow of the American Craft Council, with a nice introduction from editor Ray Hemachandra. 500 Tables is a really fine gallery book I'm proud to partner with 500 Chairs.

What a great survey of pieces by leading furniture makers! This book of tables includes some great coffee tables, and that's right where it deserves to be: perched on the coffee table of your living room to be perused by friends and family. I'm so impressed by the creativity, high skill levels, and inventiveness of these modern furniture makers, and their work is displayed to great effect in this wonderful, fun book.

As the title promises, this book is photos of 500 tables -- though the definition of "table" turns out to be a matter of opinion. The tables in this book range from traditional dining room tables to artsy coffee tables to art pieces that I can't quite call a "table" -- by which _I_ mean "something on which I could put a cup of coffee without worrying about it teetering over."

Nevertheless, this is a great book for any creative person who's looking for a bit of inspiration for her next project or who just wants to admire impressive craftsmanship (and occasionally hoot at something you think is really ugly). You'll find everything from arts & crafts styles to weirdly modern, and tables made from wood, plastic, metal, just about anything. Some are simple, others are bizarre. It's all good fun.

I'm a woodworker looking for some unusual furniture designs. I found 500 Tables to be somewhere between laughable and frightening. There's the table with spikes sticking out the top on page 136 titled the Baby Killer, a random stack of wooden folding chairs with a stuffed bird on top, a table leg piercing the body of a bird, and other bizarre gems. By my rough count, about 300 of these tables are hideous, 150 are just weird, and only about 50 are worth looking at. Of that 50, I didn't find any ideas worth using.

This book is great - it has some extremely interesting interpretations of what a table could be.
The images are all well taken and each example includes materials used.
Very inspirational from both a design and craftsmanship perspective.

I gave this as a gift. The artist that received it, loves the book and finds it very artistically inspirational.

I bought this book because I had other 500 series books and enjoy them all.. very inspiring and as usual up to my expectations.

Once again another excellent ideas/resource book from the "500" book series. Motivation aplenty to make something similar or even better.Great that measurements included so visualization is easier.