Dezeen Magazine

Maria Scarpulla's tables with flippable tops are designed to suit your mood

Maria Scarpulla's tables with flippable tops are designed to suit your mood

Belgian-American designer Maria Scarpulla has created a collection of five tables that feature colourful double-sided tops that can be flipped over.

The Ghent-based designer and painter's minimalist tables come in various different shapes and sizes  and include a dining table and coffee table.

Maria Scarpulla's tables with flippable tops are designed to suit your mood

Each one features a lacquered steel frame and a double-sided sustainable MDF or timber top that has a contrasting colour on either side.

"You can flip the tabletop so you always have two possible colours," Scarpulla told Dezeen. "The idea behind this is that you can change the colour to suit your mood and express it in your daily life, in your work or living space."

Maria Scarpulla's tables with flippable tops are designed to suit your mood

"You can enter into a conversation with the table according to how you feel at a certain moment," continued Scarpulla.

"For example, you can change the top when the sun is shining on the table in a certain way or it's raining and you feel a little blue, or just because you can and feel like it. It's up to you."

Maria Scarpulla's tables with flippable tops are designed to suit your mood

The designs, which Scarpulla said double as artworks, are named Piece, Earth on Sky; One On One; Four Levels; Colour Blue; and Way Up, Way Out.

The contrasting colour schemes are inspired by Scarpulla's travels and daily life.

Maria Scarpulla's tables with flippable tops are designed to suit your mood

In a statement, Scarpulla's studio told Dezeen: "She tries to think and see in colours, surfaces, shapes and geometric lines. It merges the bright colours of her American and Italian roots with Belgian minimalist form and functionality."

For example, the Piece, Earth on Sky table in blue and terracotta was inspired by the big skies and landscapes of Texas and Italy.

The tables are made in Belgium by local craftspeople, which Scarpulla said is an important element of her work.

"The journey from designing an object to making it, is always a pleasure to see it come to life," she told Dezeen. "Of course it's a quest and there's a lot of trial and error, but there's that moment when everything falls together and you reach that essence."

Maria Scarpulla's tables with flippable tops are designed to suit your mood

The collection will be followed up by a series of 30 limited-edition tables due to launch in June. Each limited edition table will feature a unique abstract painting incorporated into its tabletop.

"You can choose to leave the artwork in the table, but you can also take it out and put it on the wall," said Scarpulla. "I see and use the table as a canvas."

Maria Scarpulla's tables with flippable tops are designed to suit your mood

Other furniture designs with interchangeable elements include an aluminium chair by Japanese studio Nendo that can be used with different wooden backrests and armrests, and a series of tables by Patricia Urquiola for Spanish brand Kettal which feature interchangeable colourful tops and bases.