Before they bought their current home in Washington D.C.'s Mount Plesant neighborhood, Josh and Lauren lived for six years in a studio apartment. Determined to host dinner parties in their tiny space, the couple came up with an inspired idea that allowed them to have a instant dining room--but only when they needed one. They bought a dining table light enough and compact enough to be hung on the wall when not in use.
The Workscape Folding Table from Design Within Reach (on sale for $501.50 right now) was the table that fit the bill. The aluminum is relatively lightweight and it folds flat to 3" thick. When the legs are folded into the underside they don't stick out, which makes it easier to hang the table flush against the wall, hanging on the big rubber coated hooks often used to hang bikes.
Josh and Lauren liked the concept so much they carried it over to their new, much larger, home, which is photographed above and below.
On the average day, the family eats at the kitchen counter or at the folding table, which is outside during the nicer months and inside when it's cold outside. But whenever the family entertain, the table is pulled down and dinner is served.
And what is especially cool about this arrangement is that the table actually looks really good hanging on the wall. It could easily be mistaken for minimalist modern art.
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i LOVE this idea! you could totally even do a design on top (and seal it of course) so it looks like a painting on the wall intead of a big plain rectangle!
Brilliant.
Yeah - I was totally thinking the same thing as J&H - could be brilliant... not that this isn't great
Genius!
Very clever! Great solution to a common problem.
Though this is a great space-saving idea, the thought of eating most of my meals at the counter is depressing. I'm a big fan of sitting down to dinner around a table on a regular basis with my family.
wow...truly inspired. I find that I get the most inspiration in my designs and projects when I have a problem or situation that has to be worked through. Great idea.
this is great, i would have loved this idea at my old apt. fortunately my new place has room for a table!
Necessity is the mother of invention. Great ideal!
I'd have to add some artwork to the tabletop
('course i don't always know when to just leave
well enough alone until after the fact;)
*idea*
Great idea!
Unrelated note: Did anyone else notice the optical illusion from the striped carpet at the bottom right of the photo? :)
SUHHH-MART!!!
I'm imagining how cool this could be with those naturalesque wood table top slabs.
Great idea! The more I read this blog the more courage I get to moved out of my shared apartment and get a studio!
The table has the same concept as a banquet tables in a hotel ballroom or so, where they fold and hide it some where. Only this time its there alright.
I really like this idea!
I wonder if, when hanging on the wall, the table could double as a projection surface..
Hey SMARTINO, I was thinking the same thing!
I think it's a cool idea but how hard would it be to hang and remove as a single person???
This is brilliant. I'm definitely going to have to make a note of this for the future.
So. Cool.
I tried to convince my boyfriend for us to do a DIY fold down table in our small loft. We decided we lacked the necessary carpentry skills to make it happen. This seems much easier.
I think the table looks better on the wall than as a table, though.... :\
I think it looks rather boring on the wall. If I were to do this, I would definitely paint/cover (and probably have to seal) the tabletop.
LOVE this - anything to streamline the room. Now, where to store the chairs....
love it!
Very very clever! I wish there was something painted on the wall under the table. That way you have something to look at while you're eating.
Very nice. We just got rid of the dining room table because it didn't fit, and we never used it. Something like this would be better for those super rare times we want it.
This is great but I would have just ´put it behind the couch rather than hanging it over the couch.
great idea! but why not push it further by making the table surface into an artwork by painting or pasting large size photo printout on top of it? that will add color to the room too
I did this with my chairs because they were taking up too much room in my studio. The table I have is a drop leaf/ gate-leg so it serves as a sofa table when not in use. The folding chairs were found abandoned on the street and I replaced the fabric. They now hang in the kitchen on simple two prong coat hooks I found at the hardware store. Photo: http://s8.postimage.org/y53xa7wth/chairs.jpg
You could use it as a headboard, also.
I would have covered it with some contact paper, tho', so it looks like wall art.
the couch potato in me thinks it would be great to place extra large pillows on the floor and project a movie on that baby for friday night movie nights!
I love the idea, but will someone please explain the book stack to me? Unless there's a hidden rack, that could prove troublesome!
i love this. I had an idea to make a coffee table turn into a dining room table by mounting the top to one of those adjustable piano stools, but I am having trouble finding a stool that winds up high enough. for chairs, you could put bed lifts under the sofa to make the sofa table height. ikea sells them...
this is fantastic...just wanted to mention that in the intro narrative, the name of the DC neighborhood is misspelled. Should read "Mt. Pleasant"
YES oh yes I'm glad I found this. It will be perfect. Doy for me not thinking of it, as I sat here wondering how to work my smaller places dining area, and what to do with a bubblegum pink lightweight 50s metal table I (duh) use as a dining table. Fabulousness. Also- @Bella134- I have book stacks that look like that, but I used Umbra's invisible bookshelves for it. It's awesome.
http://www.umbra.com/ustore/product/330638-560.store
I doubt it's a book stack, it looks like a vertical bookcase. There are several different ones; the Sapien, Cadman and Spine. If you look closely, you can see the flat base at the bottom. I will say that is the tallest one I've seen.
This post changed my space flow. I have a simple daybed (Thing mattress on legs) in my Studio for guests to sleep on, but I never sit on it.
Now it is mounted on the wall. Love it!
What a great idea! I would even go a step further and paint something on the table that makes it look like a painting. =)
i think this is the most creative use of space i've ever seen.
Dear SUNDAYMORNING,
What optical illusion are you referring to? I'm sooooo curious!
;-)
I went to the DWR ad. The specs indicate that the table top is anodized aluminum, which doesn't seem to be captured in the photo. This could be a beautiful wall hanging in itself.
We are now doing this in our flat! We have a small table we usually use in the kitchen and plenty of chairs around the place, but we love entertaining so this is perfect for our cosy living room.
This is AMAZING. this is exactly what my husband and I were looking for..!!! I am amazed...love it totally..!!
I want to buy this table, but don't see this table anywhere on the site as suggested:- The Workscape Folding Table from Design Within Reach (on sale for $501.50 right now).
We are about to offer a line of wood patterned and/or concrete coated table tops that double as art for small spaces or that occasional need for an extra table. Check out our current work here: www.builtconcrete.com
DWR doesn't sell this anymore, but this would be a perfect solution to a workspace problem I have. Any ideas on where else to get an attractive folding table??