Tag: coffee table

Designer Desire: Juliette Belarti

Montage of tiled furniture by Juliette Belarti

Juliette Belarti is known for colourful ceramic tile designs usually seen on mid century modern coffee tables, nests of tables, home bars and door pulls.

So little is known about this artist, that there’s speculation that there isn’t actually a person named ‘J. Belarti’. It’s thought that it could perhaps be the work of a number of different artists or of a single person – the Belgian artist, Julien de Covemaeker.

I’ve found someone online who has helpfully shared photos of the pages of a Belarti catalogue. After some very slow and painstaking work, I’ve translated a couple of the passages of text from Dutch to English. Apparently, the first freehand decorated tile-topped coffee table was created in 1957 for a musician friend. The original Belarti ‘studio’ was in a garage and a very small kiln was located in a cellar.

After two years, the firm moved to larger premises in Mechelen – a city between Brussels and Antwerp in northern Belgium – and grew from strength to strength; becoming an équipe (crew) and gaining an international customer base.

Whoever Juliette Belarti may be, examples of work by this company or individual artist are readily available – try eBay, Etsy and Pamono.

Image credits:
1stDibs | Design by Davies

Gimme Five! Coffee tables

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selection of 5 coffee tables

We had a new competition start this morning with a prize of a rather elegant, limited-edition coffee table. We thought we’d feature a few more versions of coffee tables available on the web.

There probably aren’t that many homes out there that don’t have at least one coffee table in attendance; it’s such a versatile piece of furniture. Use it to serve coffee, by all means – but it can also double (quadruple?) up as a bedside table, stool or footrest.

We were particularly tickled by the pizza box table/stool from Firebox. It would fit perfectly in a teenager’s or student’s bedroom!

  1. Mocha Modern Triangle coffee table – oiled oak: £169, Funique
  2. Incredible cardboard stool: £19.99, Firebox
  3. Fergus coffee table: £229, Swoon Editions
  4. Rattan table: £275, Cox & Cox
  5. Muuto Around small coffee table: £275, Occa Home

Charity Vintage: Juliette Belarti table

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vintage Juliette Belarti coffee table for sale on eBay for Charity in support of St Vincent Support Centre
(ends 9 Nov, 2013 12:56:26 GMT)

This stunning vintage 1960s coffee table was designed by Belgian artist, Juliette Belarti and is one of the best examples of her work we’ve ever seen! We love the orange abstract design on the tiled top.

It’s being sold by St Vincent Support Centre*, one of the charities we seem to feature quite regularly on Charity Vintage (we really must get over there for a visit!)

Its “buy it now” price is £375, but they’re open to offers. They quote delivery to London (from their base in Leeds) at around a very reasonable £40.

*St Vincent’s is part of the international charity the St Vincent de Paul Society and exists to promote self-sufficiency by building bridges of support and creating opportunities that enhance the quality of life for those deprived of income, employment, education, social networks and community support. They offer a wide range of services to people who need it most, including free debt advice, counselling, free adult learning and volunteering/training placements for unemployed and adults with special needs.