Core77
e
- Topics
- Features
- Awards
- Careers
-
Firms
- Firms
- Search Firms;
- Firm Projects
- Forums
-
More...
- About Us
- Contact Us
- Advertise
- About
- Terms of Use
Core77 is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more
This photo began making the blog rounds some time last year, and continues to resurface on Pinterest, usually with the word "clever" in the description. But is it? Let's think about this for a second.
First off there's the table. Treehugger wrote "I don't know how they get such a big table into the counter, perhaps there is a fold in it." By zooming in on the photo, we can tick that box:
As you can see inside the circle, the faintest of reveals is visible, indicating the table's in two halves. My guess is the front half folds up and back onto the rear half for stowage. The two red arrows indicate where conventional leaf hinges (as seen below) might be, conveniently concealed in the photo by the dish and the newspaper.
However, as this piece of furniture is ascribed to German manufacturer Alno (though I could not find it anywhere on their site, probably due to the language barrier), I wouldn't be surprised if they used hidden hinges like this:
Those bad boys are inserted into simple holes drilled into the edges of each board, and then you join them like you're doweling them together. Hinges like that don't come cheap, maybe a hundred bucks U.S.Then there's the seating part. Sure, you can get 100-lb. capacity drawer slides, and with one on either side, could theoretically support your 200-lb. friend. But how are those drawer slides mounted? On your average Euro kitchen set-up, you've got tiny little screws biting into melamine-covered particle-board sides—something that would clearly end here with a very slapstick-like accident.
To our readers with design-build experience, how would you rig something like this if the client demanded it? In addition to using solid-wood or plywood sides that took screws well, my instinct would be to attach blocks above and below the drawer slides as added support—but the presence of a drawer directly above the seat drawer means that would interfere with the former's drawer slides. Any ideas? Do you reckon this whole thing is steel?
-
oFavorite
-
Q21Comment
-
&
Rain Noe
I’m a lapsed industrial designer. I was born in NYC and figured I’d die there, but a few years ago I abandoned New York to live on a farm in the countryside with my wife. We have six dogs.
Hiring Now See all industrial design jobs
-
Product Engineer - Skip HopNew York, New YorkSkip HopJul 08 -
Intern, Industrial DesignSan Francisco, CaliforniaAmmunitionJun 29 -
Product Design DirectorLake Worth, FloridaJABS Investor Corp d/b/a JABS Marble and GraniteJun 22 -
Autodesk Alias 3D ModelerChicago, IllinoisTangent Design Group, Inc.Jun 16 -
Industrial DesignerSpringfield, IllinoisXKGLOWJun 09
-
K1:1 | with Michael DiTulloA New Core77 video podcast series. Fresh interviews weekly. Subscribe on Youtube.
-
Hot On Coroflot
-
Popular Discussions
-
Industrial Designer Creates Concept for Copic Marker with RGB Slider, Design Blogs Don't Understand It's a Joke
-
This is the Most Bizarre Presentation by a Car Designer I've Ever Seen
-
Swoon Editions Gets Caught Stealing Designer's Work, Must Now Pay Up
-
Question for Architects and Designers: What to Rename the Master Bedroom?
-
-
Design Jobs
Petru Buba
Jonathan Miller
K
{Welcome
Create a Core77 Account
Already have an account? Sign In
By creating a Core77 account you confirm that you accept the Terms of Use
K
Reset Password
Please enter your email and we will send an email to reset your password.
Alno's Pull-Out Dining: How'd They Do That? (Or: How Would You Do This?)
I suggest having the seats do more than just pull straight out. Maybe there is a back support and feet support to make it look and feel more stable. It may be able to hold the weight of an average or an above average person but all I can see is the customer feeling wary the whole time sitting there. This is set assuming one inital weight and height of people. Some one could be very light but tall so their knees will not fit underneath.
It's cool to look at but not realistic. It would have to be customized to the individual and not be able to be mass produced.
All the hardware needed is on McMaster at reasonable prices. Mortise hinges, HD slides, etc.
I'd splurge on 500lb rated slide pairs though as you want the seats to take dynamic loads of sitting (not just static weight) and give the user a confident feel.
From a design perspective, those corners would catch my thighs for sure and give a nasty charlie horse.
What I'm getting at is that this is a rendering...Albeit a good one.
The difference being these slides were usually being anchored to a steel chassis rack, itself able to withstand even more loads.
So if this system was anchored by any sort of steel chassis or even just some stout wood frame with some metal backing plates to resist pull-out I'm sure the slide-out chairs are well within physical possibility.
Cost and practicality run very counter the idea in most applications, but if we were talking a micro apartment, a boat (like a submarine) or similar, I could see the idea being applied.
The two drawer slides would provide enough support (generally up to 100 lbs for the pair) and allow you to slide the whole unit out. The front white surface could be removable rather than foldable. This would allow you to detach the surface and stack it onto the rear making it easier to slide the whole unit into the rest of the counter.
This is just my take from only looking at the provided pictures and a general knowledge of home hardware.
I wouldn't attempt the double leaf design but I think they are proposing that the rear leaf rolls down the back of the unit as the front leaf slides back into it's drawer space. this obviously wastes a lot of the space below- look at the pics, do you see drawer fronts under there?
also, the gap between the table and the seat looks to small, and combined witht the side of the seat and table (that are pretty sharp, because they have to conceal when closed and look like the regular drawers) could make leaving the table kind of a not pleasant moment.
seats don't have back-rest! if this solution is not for actually having a nice dinner, why doing it and spending money then? for few stick and champain, you could use the cabint top itself. But if is a smart solution for a relaxing dinner, or breackfast, when you want to read the newspaper relaxed, you have to have the back rest.
If you sacrifice the drawer below you could connect a large support to the wall and use that to take some of the load. that way you also save on a few sets of rails.
Also, if it were hinged, the drawer front would actually hinge to the back. My guess is the back piece of the table is loose and just lies on the top piece and is moved like a table leaf when pulled out.
Drawer slides rated 500lb for the pair can also be purchased at rockler.com.
http://www.leevalley.com/en/Hardware/page.aspx?p=64335&cat=3,41241,41265
http://www.leevalley.com/en/Hardware/page.aspx?p=62129&cat=3,41241
So I googled a little bit and found this retailer selling them for few bucks :)
http://www.hardwaresource.com/hinges/FURNITURE+HINGES/Concealed+Hinges+-+Hidden+Hinges/Concealed+Hinge%2C+Barrel+Type
i'd guess they simply stack both parts on top of each other. mechanisms like that have been around in European furniture business for centuries. literally all kitchen tables possessed by me or ma family had a somehow similar function.
Something similar for the table with those cool hinges
1st, you have to maintain the balance of the couple who sit on it with the weight of whole counter, and for that purpose only you need to anchor the counter to the wall or the floor.
2nd, based on the image you can see that the seats are using conventional drawer rails, it just wont work, it will need extra support.
I think the designer need to include folded stands for the seat.
The idea is good though.
A quick look in the catalogue of the german supplier of these fittings I learned that they offer drawer slides with capacities up to 500 lbs (/pair) which would be way to much even!
By examining the inner side at the table and the inner side at the drawer it looks like these sides are maybe up to 30-40 millimeters thick. That is a big upright member which I reckon to be strong enough to be able to endure the tension from the table and seats. The wood I used was only 12 mm thick and supported me quite well.
You mentioned a German supplier, the hinges you picture are not nearly as expensive there than they are in the USA (like 10 dollars or so).