Silent elegance of the Creso table by Lella & Massimo Vignelli
29th December 2007
Modern dining furniture for restaurants, bars, and cafes does not necessarily have to be all shiny and glitzy or too radical looking, and it doesn’t always have to look like it would belong in the cafeteria of the Starship Enterprise. There are many characteristics that define modern furniture, either by the way it looks or the materials used to make it.
When I first saw the Creso dining table over at Bonluxat, the words “clean” and “modern” were what first came to mind. Designed by Lella and Massimo Vignelli, it is characterized by bold but simple curves. Its elegance is anything but delicate. It seems heavy in appearance to me, maybe because of the thick base. But that would probably make it good café dining furniture – the better to withstand heavy use in such a commercial setting.
The base reminds me of those big, heavy duty batteries you put in flashlights. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It is made of metal and the table top attaches to it with a ring screw connection, which can be transparent, opalescent or made of Brillio 31. The whole structure is manually treated, using a Venetian stucco technique called “encausto” and in the following color choices: white, red, grey, oxide, green, titanium, and several shades of blue. Optionally, a gold or silver leaf finish is also available, applied on bole or indigo film.
The standard crystal top is 15 mm thick. However, you can also choose from among the Black Marquina or Calacatta Carrara marble tops. The Creso table is manufactured by Acerbi International. It’s a sleek and modern piece of furniture that’s almost minimalist in appearance but which could easily be any room’s center of attraction.
