Kersauson Dining Table
This design came from my reading of French ocean racers - those solitary figures who circumnavigate the globe in stripped-down trimarans, sleeping in four-hour shifts, pushing both boat and body to their absolute limits. Olivier de Kersauson kept appearing in the margins of these stories - the aristocrat turned sailor, eight years as Tabarly's mate, always chasing speed records across open water.
The table’s form came quickly after that. The base is minimal, like a racing yacht’s rigging pared down to only what’s essential. Solid steel bent into that asymmetric cradle, mimicking the tension of shrouds and stays. The top’s tapered ends and chamfered edges capture the essential lines of a racing hull.
The client who commissioned the Kersauson already owned eight Chatwin chairs. When the table arrived and was set in place, the relationship between the pieces became immediately clear. He'd designed those years earlier with a different reference in mind - Bruce Chatwin's restless wandering, that aesthetic of the thoughtful nomad. But here, arranged around the Kersauson, they revealed an unexpected kinship.
Both pieces shared the same material vocabulary: oiled hardwood, blackened steel, leather worn to a patina by use. Both honored the same principle - that the finest objects for movement and adventure aren't primitive or ascetic, but rather precisely crafted for their purpose. A racing yacht isn't spartan; it's refined down to its essence. Every gram matters, every line has a reason.
The pairing worked because they told the same story from different chapters. The Chatwin chair: the traveler on land, packing and unpacking, finding temporary homes. The Kersauson table: the sailor on open water, trusting wind and craft and nerve.
Together, they furnish the house of someone who understands that the romance of exploration isn't about discomfort - it's about having exactly what you need, made as well as it can be made, and nothing more.
Wood: 26 woods from light to dark and several specialty finishes
Metal: Satin finished stainless steel, polished stainless steel, blackened stainless steel
Dimensions:
130” long x 40” wide x 30” high
Made to order in custom sizes and configurations.
See Tearsheet for more detailed information.
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