Giraffe Console Table

Giraffe console table: 32H x 16W x 45L maple, plane tree, ebony, $4500.

(click images to enlarge)

The Giraffe console table is one of the earliest designs of mine pictured on this website. Its design and construction precedes all the other console tables. Many of the features that I have gone on to use selectively in subsequent pieces are all on on display here: the distinctive “haunched” joints of the apron/leg connections, the arched stretchers, and the overhangs, just to name a few.

The table has an Asian feel to it, along with a refined elegance accentuated by the sharp contrasts of woods. The base and the perimeter wood of the top are all hard maple.The lower shelf supports and the 1/4″ inlay on the top are ebony. And the top, within the ebony border inlay is European plane tree veneer.

I built this piece speculatively. The form is more conventional than my subsequent pieces, and its details more decorative than most pieces that I went on to design. But I am still very much drawn to it. It’s a wonderful table for an entry way or along a wall where it can be viewed from various vantage points. The composition of angles, arcs and tapers make it very pleasing when viewed from a distance and, while up close, the finer details are equally satisfying.

The Giraffe table was purchased from a local gallery and now resides in Philadelphia. If you’re interested in this design I would be pleased to re-create it for you as seen in the pictures above or in your choice of woods. Depending on the context, I had always imagined the piece to be quite striking with a rich, dark reddish brown wood on the veneered top insert. Still there are many other choices and combinations that could work. Please contact me to discuss.