THE DOMESTIC AGENDA

Furniture doesn't follow trends so much as respond to our changing lives and lifestyles. Fresh from Milan, we bring you five emerging typologies of design that reflect our current home habits and habitats

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THE LIFELONG TABLE

If downtime at home takes place on the sofascapes we identify on pages 116-117, then more active domestic life today gravitates towards what we call 'the lifelong table'. At first glance, these could pass for boardroom tables of old: large, perhaps even imposing in scale, with enough room to accommodate an extended family for a lengthy feast. These tables are loooong (we noted some models of 6m in length), and they don't just answer the need to anchor bigger spaces in ever-larger residential developments, but also reflect the more modern ritual of conducting several quotidian tasks at the table over the course of a day/month/lifetime. Casual breakfasts, messy homework, buffet lunches, flower arranging, family meetings and dinner parties - the lifelong table can accommodate a variety of settings and situations, often simultaneously without one encroaching on the other.

They bring families together, but with enough room to engage in different activities and conversations while still feeling physically connected. As such, the lifelong table is the epicentre of life in the home. It is a table, but it is also somewhere that encourages us to show up and be with each other. Surfaces are resplendent varieties of stone, wood, lacquer and glass - practical for heavy use and beautiful when vacant. As a final note, though, the lifelong table benefits from a few household rules to prevent it becoming a dumping ground.

THE LIGHT FANTASTIC