Extending Kiaat Dining Suite — Table and Eight Chairs, by Greaves & Thomas, UK c.1960s
A complete suite in the truest sense: extending table, with eight chairs: four side chairs and four carvers. All share the same kiaat frame, tapered legs and original black leathercloth. Two of the carvers match the side chairs' curved back, while the other two carry the maker's open block back — a complementary variation within the same range. Four carvers give the table generous presence at full extension, and complete suites that survive with this many host chairs are increasingly hard to find.
The table's self-storing leaf works smoothly and remains original. Closed it holds its proportions at a comfortable six-seater; extended, it seats eight without crowding. Clean apron, square tapered legs, and a richly figured kiaat top — the Danish-influenced vocabulary Greaves & Thomas developed through the 1950s and 60s.
The chairs carry the same design language. Each crest rail floats clear of the seat back, held between two uprights that run slightly proud above it — a small piece of shaping that gives the whole set its lightness.
Greaves & Thomas, London
Founded in the early 1900s, Greaves & Thomas built its reputation on the celebrated 'Put-U-Up' sofa bed before expanding by mid-century into contemporary dining and cabinet furniture. Through the 1950s and 60s the firm recruited strong designers — most notably Walter Cornell, whose streamlined, Danish-influenced work defined the brand's output of the period. Schreiber acquired the company in 1967; pieces from before and immediately after that date remain the most collectible.
