It might not have been the original intention, but coffee tables have pretty much become more decorative than functional these days. Of course, they still serve as tables you put things on, including your coffee, but they are mostly designed to have more visual impact these days. It’s not unusual for this kind of table to have some eye-catching shape or color or both, acting as a center of attraction as well as a conversation starter. These glass-blown coffee tables are perfect examples of such furniture, capturing your visitors’ eyes, imaginations, and probably even appetites with their elegant forms, gem-like colors, and dynamic surfaces that may entice you to pour yourself a bubbly drink.
Designer: Yiannis Ghikas
A glass table might not be the most practical piece of furniture because of its fragility, especially if the entire table, including the legs, is made up of that material. Things get even more complicated if you’re attempting to make a sizable table out of a single piece of glass that is air-blown like traditional glass pieces. It’s that technical difficulty that makes the Soda coffee tables all the more impressive and mind-blowing, pretty much like a glass-blown art piece.
The production of such a masterpiece is no easy feat. It’s made upside-down, blown from a single glass volume, and shaped by no less than three master glassmakers. Complicating things further is that while the tabletop is a conventional circle, the stem is formed into three intersecting circles that resemble the petals of a flower. That unusual shape not only provides a beautiful form but also helps spread the weight around.
Unlike what you might expect from a glass table, the Soda coffee table isn’t completely smooth, at least not visually. The top has a hammered surface that seems to freeze ripples in time. It creates an impression of dynamism and almost literal vibrancy, almost like a colored drink that bubbles and ripples at the slightest movement. It reflects and refracts light in seemingly random and interesting ways as if the table is a gigantic drinking glass with soda trapped inside for eternity.
Soda is more than just an elegant coffee table. It’s also an exercise in pushing the envelope of a glass-blown design, especially when it comes to large proportions and complicated shapes. The result is a beautiful piece of furniture that’s no different from a piece of sculptural art that combines a play of light and colors that will surely make you the talk of the neighborhood.
