Stockholm 2015: Sweden's Note Design Studio and Denmark's Norm Architects have collaborated to design a collection of tables with mixed-and-matched marble tops for furniture brand Menu.
Inspired by a floor in Milan made from leftover pieces of marble patched together, the circular tabletops range in size from a 35-centimetre diameter to a 75-centimetre diameter.
The removable surfaces, which double up as trays, sit on slender powder-coated steel frames.
The idea for the Patch tables came about when members of both studios were in Milan, where Note Design Studio's Krisoffer Fagerstrom stumbled upon an old marble floor.
"The tiling of the floor was put together from leftover pieces of stone," he said. "Almost randomly, the different slabs of marble in a variety of qualities and colours came together in a beautiful disordered pattern, that made it into the most beautiful graphic artwork."
Later that day, Note Design Studio bumped into Norm Architects by chance. A conversation about the floor, and the notion of using this luxurious material in a more casual way, turned into a product idea for Menu.
"We wanted to create something that was in between furniture and accessories with a multi-purpose in the home," said Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen of Norm Architects. "In the process of designing the tables we played with the idea of 'micro furniture'."
The result of the project is a set of three occasional tables – ranging from coffee-table to dining-table size – which can be combined and stacked to create different configurations.
"The contrast of the heaviness of the stone and the very light and delicate powder coated steel legs gives the tables an effortless grace," said a statement from Note Design Studio.
"The contrast of the simplicity of the design and the richness of the marble structures that interact, makes the tables intriguing in a subtle and understated manner."
The Patch collection launched at this week's Stockholm Furniture Fair, where Note Design Studio also presented a lounge chair sized for small apartments and lamps wrapped in pastel-coloured textiles.
Norm Architects' Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen and Kasper Rønn are the creative directors for Menu, which presented a collection of homeware and a multi-functional silicone lamp at the Northmodern trade fair in Copenhagen last month.