Caya Coffee Table

The Caya Coffee Table from Four Hands is a low, round drum built to show off burl. Poplar burl veneer covers the top and body, so the swirling, knotted grain does the talking, and the caramel finish carries a soft sheen. The drum sits on a slightly recessed base fitted with leg levelers, which keeps it steady on floors that aren't quite flat. Burl figure is never repeated, so the pattern on each table will differ a little from the next.

The silhouette is simple and sculptural, a nod to 1970s drum tables and to the quiet, rounded forms of modern minimalism. With no corners and no hardware to interrupt it, the veneer reads almost like a cross-section of a tree trunk. It sits easily beside bouclé, cognac leather, travertine, plaster, and blackened metal, and it warms up a room full of cooler materials.

Put it in front of a loveseat or between a pair of chairs in a smaller living room, where a round edge makes walking around it easier. A stack of books, a low bowl, and a candle are enough to dress the top. In a larger room, two of them side by side can stand in for one big table.