RODA Stork sculptural teak side table

Teak side table

Three legs and a long neck

The base is the design. Each of the three teak legs is shaped so that together they narrow into a neck under the top, and from most angles the table looks more like a carved object than a piece of furniture. Guillaumier kept the top small, about 17 3/4 inches across, so the wood stays the focus and the table takes up very little floor.

Stork is meant for a glass or a paperback. RODA rates the top for a maximum load of 2 kilograms, roughly 4.4 pounds, so a heavy tray or a potted plant belongs somewhere else. At 21 1/4 inches high it sits close to the arm of most lounge chairs and a little above the frame of a sunlounger, which puts a drink within easy reach.

Tops come in natural gres, in wavy glass in fern, navy or paprika, or in concrete in mole, green or orange. Gres and glass wipe clean after a spill and hold their color in strong sun. The teak needs no paint to live outdoors. If it is never oiled, it slowly turns silver gray, which makes the colored glass and concrete tops stand out more over time.

Because it is small and light in appearance, Stork suits a city balcony as much as a large garden, and it moves indoors next to a reading chair without looking out of place. RODA makes it in Italy alongside its larger pieces. As Italian outdoor furniture goes, it is one of the smallest items in the range and one of the most sculptural.

Three teak legs that gather into a neck

Designer

Gordon Guillaumier

Gordon Guillaumier, who has taught industrial design at the Milan Polytechnic, treats Stork almost as a sculpture and lets the shaped teak base carry the whole idea.

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