At first glance, the Abyss Table looks like a fancy aquarium coffee table. Like someone took a large rock and turned it into a tank where fish can swim around. But it isn’t. In fact, there’s not even any water on the darn thing. And there aren’t any rocks either.
Instead, it employs a carefully-layered series of wood and glass that creates an illusory effect of a body of water entrenched on a large boulder’s body. It’s a mesmerizing sight, the way a geological cross section of the ocean will look like if you cut it off like a slice of cake.
Designed by Christopher Duffy, the Abyss Table uses thick sheets of FSC-certified wood and glass, stacking them into a three-dimensional structure that mimics a natural ocean formation. Layering the glass makes those at the lower levels look darker, similar to the way the sea appears at greater depths. While designed to function as a coffee table for serving tea, holding the remote, and putting your feet up, it’s gorgeous enough to pull off serving as a strictly display piece. It measures 5.2 x 1.5 x 2.6 feet (l x h x d).
The only downside? Getting something this pretty will mean making the rest of the stuff in the living room look like abandoned furniture in comparison, so expect to begin wanting to upgrade everything, from the couch to the lighting fixtures, shortly down the line.
Each Abyss Table is hand-built upon ordering. Price is £5,800.