Not one but two award-winners have elbowed their way into this New Year.  Which has certainly helped shift some of the gloom that descended with yet another announcement this week of a lockdown.

So to share this good news with you (and yes we all need some!) here’s the low down! And will the talented and (multi) award-winning designer Alain Gilles please take a bow.

The Geometric Table:  designer Alain Gilles

Winning the prestigious Chicago Athenaeum Museum’s GOOD DESIGN AWARD is the Geometric table from Bonaldo.

The Good Design Award is the oldest design award in the world, entering its 70th year this year. So it’s seen a few designs in it’s time.

The idea

Simple. The Geometric is a table that changes shape depending on the observer’s perspective. It has a hypnotic visual effect and looks different depending on your point of view.

“Like a sculpture, the Geometric Table invites the spectators to go beyond first appearances and to ask themselves questions about their own perception of reality,” –  Alain Gilles,

And then not so simple. The Geometric Table was an apparently simple project but highly complex to realize, relying hugely on Bonaldo’s industrial abilities and the company’s major focus on research and development.  And it ultimately led to this award-winning design and one of their most experimental, off-the-wall projects yet.

The concept is based on chameleon-like silhouettes.  Beginning with the base, Geometric’s four legs have drop-shaped feet which appear thick, or sharp and thin, playing together to offer a different perception of their visual weight as you move around the table.

The design also fuses three extremely distinctive elements: functionality, comfort and aesthetics. And this innovative table scores points for everything from the material to the colours, the harmonious shapes (both rectangular and round versions) and because its available four different sizes.

The Cross Table:  designer Alain Gilles

And yet another award.  This time from America’s Interior Design Magazine with the BEST OF THE YEAR award for Bonaldo’s Cross dining table.

From zillions of entries Cross was named the outright winner in the Residential Dining Table category.

The design is a combination of three essential elements: a top, metal structure and base.  A stylish, refined design with a strong visual impact.

“The logic of the design rests on the honesty of the materials that are used according to the functions they are fulfilling in the overall construction of the table” – Alain Gilles

It represents a certain ‘economy of means’, but at the same time doesn’t hold back with its visual impact.

The Cross table’s stability comes from its solid wooden base, in the shape of a cross. Although the table top rests only on a thin metal structure, the cross-shaped base gives the structural strength. The strong central base also never obstructs people’s feet once they’re seated. A big plus in our books.

The three different elements also offer the possibility of imaginative variations in the overall look.  Go dramatic and wild or keep it calm and tame. Choose both elements in the same colour or finish. A great dynamic can also be created by visually linking the central metal cross with the base or the table top.

The overall logic of the design is most evident when different colours are used on all three of the elements.

A straightforward idea

Although the design of the Cross appears fairly straightforward, you guessed it, it’s not.

Gilles has given the utmost consideration to the detailing of each part. And each part plays with the visual importance of the others.  The wooden base and table top for example have curves that create a pleasing balance with the understated general look of the piece. There’s a balance between masculinity and femininity, between straight lines and soft curves.

The Cross table is available in either rectangular or round versions and in four sizes.

So there you are, some good news.  And more good news: take advantage of our WINTER SALE – 15% off all design over £1,000.