Folding and extending tables: adapt furniture to narrow spaces

Small rooms and environments are a characteristic of nowadays flats, the space at disposal seems to drastically reduce and while a few lucky ones live in wide enough houses, the rest of us are struggling with space, or with the lack of it to be more precise.

How can we have everything we need without sacrificing precious room? Do we really have to give up on design furniture and classy contemporary style?

Italian design furniture comes in help, with solutions specifically thought for us, people who live in narrow places, who don't want to give up comfort and style but at the same time still need everything to be compact and adaptable.

More in specific, the brand Calligaris has presented us throught the years great solutions for that, thanks to a range of Italian design tables and console tables which I find to be extremely convenient and stylish at the same time.

The first model I'd like to show you is Olivia Pocket folding console table. This console table is classy, with a simple but elegant design and when closed it measures only cm 42 x 100 and it can hold inside its structure the chairs. In this way when you've done with lunch or dinner you can easily store them inside and easily move Olivia Pocket console table in a corner of the house, also thanks to its convenient casters.

Olivia Pocket folding console table

The space you have at disposal is ridiculously small? Quadro folding table and Olivia Bar folding console table can be the answer. Both needs to be fixed to a wall and they can be opened and closed by a simple 90° rotation. Depths when closed are 14 cm for the first one and 15 cm for the second one, they practically dissapear in case of need and you will have all the space at disposal.

Quadro folding table 

Olivia Bar folding console table

If you want a more refined and elegant solution, Baron X-tension extending console table may be suitable for you. With structure made of satin finished steel and laminate top this console table comes with two extensions, a drop down and a folding one, making it adaptable to all needs. Legs always follow the table in length avoiding the trouble of having them in front of the chairs while eating.

Baron X-tension extending console table

Last product I'd like to share with you is Flexy extending and convertible coffee table. This table has a great characteristic: it doubles in size and height. You can simply use it as a refined design coffee table and when you need you can convert it into a proper dining table for 6 people, thanks to the casters and the button placed on the side. Flexy structure will easily lift up and down just like an ironing board.

Flexy extending and convertible coffee table

Extending Tables: the perfect solution for kitchens and living rooms

Extending tables are the perfect solution for all those people who want to furnish with style their kitchen or living room, without giving up on the practical side.
Extending tables can, in just a few second, extend up to remarkable measures (you can also find models that double their size!); in this way it will be so much easier for you to handle an improvised dinner, a birthday party or, why not, a great Christmas lunch with relatives and friends.

Choosing a practical table doesn't necessary mean giving up on style, elegance and beauty; Italian design tables are renown for their class, style and excellent materials, Italian design extending tables are no different.
The choice is extremely wide; several materials and finishes, different shapes, different types of extension systems. With this kind of selection, I'm sure that everyone can find the perfect table according to their tastes and needs.

Rectangular extending tables are the ideal solution for rectangular rooms, carrying on in this way the surrounding geometry. This rather "classical" look can be bypassed by daring a little bit with an original combination of colours or finishes, or again with particular legs.

Take for example Big Table with coloured legs, its unique style alone is enough to furnish your living room, especially with the striking combination of coloured legs and Canaletto walnut top. Moreover, as the name says it, this table is BIG and, in the extending model, can reach up to 300 or 320 cm!


If you like something more traditional but with a touch of original elements, you can play with finishes and create pleasant combinations like in the Twice table, with extensions matching the structure.


Shaped tables are a great solution for irregular spaces and environments; Daytona design glass table is a fine example, with the elegance of the shape matching the lightness of the materials.


About the choice of materials... it only depends on your taste! And of course on the other materials and finishes you have around the room... for something with a more "classical" feeling you can choose warm and modern wooden finishes, have a look at Tratto table for example.


If you look for something "minimal" and technological I suggest Alfa table with transparent glass top and legs, beautiful and elegant with a refined extending mechanism.

Outdoor Furniture: extending tables

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about outdoor chairs: the first element you should think about in order to prepare your garden or outdoor space for the summer; now that spring has arrived it's time to carefully look for a table to match with your chairs. A table is the symbol of conviviality and culinary satisfaction, it's the one element that can help you enjoying more the time you spend outdoors when the warm and sunny days come.

When the sun comes out and the days become longer and warmer what we all desire is to have a good meal or a nice party in our garden or terrace; so that's the right time to find a table that is both pleasant and useful.

If I start thinking about outdoor lunches or cocktail parties, I can't help imagining lot of guests and barbecue meals and, as a consequence, a place where I can welcome them all. For this reason my attention is drawn right away to big tables, suitable for this kind of occasions.

Unfortunately not everyone can have wide outdoor spaces and not everyone can afford big tables, at least not without sacrificing the space we would otherwise use for any other outdoor activity. The most obvious solution is to choose extending tables, available with many materials suitable for outdoor use.

This kind of tables can, when needed, be closed or be put away, saving space for other kind of activities; but they can also welcome many guests when you need to organize a lunch or a party.

Outdoor extending tables can be chosen in different materials and shapes, according to your desire and needs: oval, rectangular, square, round... all these shapes can be extended using different mechanisms and systems. Metal, rattan, glass and wood are, on the other end, materials that can be perfectly used for the extensions.

Continuum extensible outdoor table, for example, is composed by a glass top and a synthetic rattan structure and can host up to 10 people with its 290 cm of length. It comes with perimetrical legs that always follow the table in length, avoiding in this way to take up the space used by the guests.

Cetra outdoor table with teak structure is extensible in the rectangular version, reaching up to 4 metres of length and can host up to 14 guests; the teak structure and the steel plate top are particularly suitable against weather conditions and they create a pleasant aesthetic contrast as well.

Sole extensible outdoor table is an example of round shaped table, softer compared to the rectangular one, allowing at the same time to host up to 8 people with its 240 cm of length. Teak and painted steel materials blend together creating an extremely enjoyable mix.