The latest from New Zealand-based design brand, Resident, brings us the Plane Tables. Available in both Rectangle and Round versions, the furniture was designed by Jamie McLellan, who is also VP of Design Futures at cult sneaker brand Allbirds. “I’d been thinking about building a table for our home and I came back to the idea of very simple stacked block forms, using cantilever elements that to me feel reminiscent of contemporary architecture,” McLellan said of his design.

The Plane Tables perform a balancing act that has to be seen to be believed. Large slabs of wood are stacked together, then engineering magic holds the legs, cross beam, and table top together for a form that is both functional and sculptural. Some might refer to it as alter-like.

“To start the design process we had maybe ten different variations of this stacked theme and some of them were quite elaborate, but in the end we just came to the most pure and honest and brutal solution. The nice thing about this table is it’s a little more expressive than the average four-legged table. To keep the table from toppling over, but still maintain the look that everything is tenuously balanced on top of each other, there is a system of clever internal bracketing discreetly hidden away within the solid timber.”

To learn more about Plane Tables, visit resident.co.nz.

Kelly Beall is senior editor at Design Milk. The Pittsburgh-based graphic designer and writer has had a deep love of art and design for as long as she can remember, and enjoys sharing her finds with others. When undistracted by great art and design, she can be found making a mess in the kitchen, consuming as much information as possible, or on the couch with her three pets. Find her @designcrush on social.

You can follow Kelly Beall on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. Read all of Kelly Beall's posts.

There's no reason why vacuums need to be garishly colored or over designed. Suosi Design's Actoplus takes a calmer approach to cleaning.

A House in Gray is a modern home in Puembo, Quito, Ecuador inspired by the simplicity of the materials it's made from.

A fantasy-inspired apartment in Nagoya that's designed to adapt to the child as it grows up and gets bigger.

Seth Rogan's cannabis and lifestyle brand Houseplant pairs with turntable specialists Pro-Ject delivering a retro-styled record player to set the mood.

You’ll always hear it from Design Milk first. Our passion is discovering and highlighting emerging talent, and we’re energized by and for our community of like-minded design lovers — like you!

Photo copyright retained by photo owners, everything else © 2022 Design Milk®.