Greaves & Thomas | Extending Oval Dining Table | c.1960s
There's something quietly authoritative about a table that seats four or up to eight without making a fuss of it.
The oval is what does the work. Without corners, everyone at the table sits in the same conversation, and the form reads far lighter in a room than a rectangle of equivalent capacity — the reason the shape has never really gone out of favour. Here it's drawn with real discipline: a slim rounded lip to the edge, then a curved apron band running unbroken around the full sweep, inlaid with a fine stringing line that catches the light and does the whole job of decoration on its own.
Below that, four slender round tapered legs, finished with brass cap feet. The figure across the top is exceptional: dense rippling fiddleback mahogany, book-matched down the centre and warm in tone.
The extension is as well resolved as the rest. The centre leaf is hinged and housed within the table itself — the halves draw apart, the leaf folds up from inside, and the top closes flush, easy enough that one person can do it unassisted.
The original G&T maker's label remains intact beneath the apron.
Closed, it seats four to six. Fully extended it seats six comfortably, and up to eight at a closer setting.
Maker Profile — Greaves & Thomas, London
Greaves & Thomas was founded in the early 1900s and built its early reputation on the celebrated 'Put-U-Up' sofa bed before expanding, by mid-century, into a broader range of contemporary dining and cabinet furniture. During the 1950s and 1960s the firm employed skilled designers — most notably Walter Cornell — who brought clean lines and a strong Danish modern influence to the brand's output. In 1967, Greaves & Thomas was acquired by Schreiber — a telling endorsement of the brand's standing in the British furniture market. Pieces from the pre- and immediately post-acquisition period remain the most collectible.
