Coffee table, by Bethan Laura Wood and Abet Laminati

This two-part coffee table by Bethan Laura Wood (W*146) appeals to the slightly trashy glamour puss in us all here at Wallpaper*. Its pearlised, striped laminate surface, courtesy of Abet Laminati, is inspired by materials used in nail bars and beauty parlours – an under-exploited design aesthetic if you ask us.

Wood, who has also designed fashion sets and created an installation at the Design Museum in London, began by defining the shape of the legs, which is based on an earlier bracelet design. The London-based designer has a thing for artificial surfaces, and has in the past experimented with faux marble and wood, created using laminates. The table, with its art-deco echo, certainly celebrates a very man-made feel. The flexible, modular pieces are also stackable, thanks to their powder-coated steel legs with birch ply interior. Cabinet maker Toby Liberman helped Wood, one of Wallpaper’s Graduate Directory alumni, put them together.

Bethan Laura Wood
Since completing her MA at London’s Royal College of Art, young British designer Wood has taken part in a multitude of residencies in Europe. She has a love of colour and geometry, as well as for balancing taste with more off-piste concepts. She enjoys creating her own trends and visual metaphors, rather than following the paths of her contemporaries. woodlondon.co.uk

Abet Laminati
Founded in the 1950s, Abet Laminati is the Italian company that pushed laminate materials past basic white and wood-effect patterns by producing bold colours and translucent and 3D effects. Its pattern books now run to a huge range of hues, and it was Abet laminates used in beauty parlours that provided the primary surface material for Wood’s coffee tables.

As originally featured in the August 2011 issue of Wallpaper* (W*149)