I would use that EA table. Not the other two.

But then I've never been accused of having good taste.

I like it too, because it is plain and sturdy and "out there" at the same time. And it turns, which is funny. The only reason I would want to have a 25 room house is to indulge my affection for odd furniture.

Can you imagine having the EA turning table in the house with kids?

Funny, I can see my grandkids on it - it would be the most popular toy in my house.

I like to think of it as modular--you could have two or three meshed together. It's just fun furniture.

I've seen a few rotating coffee tables--I think Heywood Wakefield made one--but I'm not sure what they do for you (aside from just being different). Is it to swap cocktails at a party? Or make it easy to put your keys in the bowl when you're mildly incapacitated but still want to get in on the swinging?

This one probably turns because as a cog, it's "supposed to".

But I think to serve hors d'oeuvres is one reason for the rotating table. This came on the heels of a number of modernists (in the Hollywood Regency vein) who made some pieces of furniture with clear additional functions, Edward Wormley and William Haines among others. They made dining tables with lazy susans built-in flush to the surface, bedside tables with specific functions, and padded headboards with flip down armrests and such.

Way too 'different' for my taste, and those who know me would ask...'why'? ;o)

All I can think of is the Lost Lighthouse wheel.

I love it, it's a riot, and wow, what a conversation piece. I can see it painted too, but I can see almost anything painted, so that is no surprise. Off to comb CL for interesting stuff, palimpsest, your finds inspire me or, perhaps aid and abet is a more precise term.

Thank you for posting more cool stuff.

Sandyponder

I find the EA table interesting and I really like the wood but I couldn't own it because I'm a klutz and would nail my shin on each and every one of the poking out thingies.

The other's aren't an option and it's been quite some time since I've uttered or written the initials _ _ unless it was something I bought from them years ago.

Seriously - I perused their on-line catalog the other day to see if there was anything machine washable and they showed a deep indigo blue linen throw that they said was washable but then said not to set on light colored furnishings because of color transfer.

My question would be what kind of room would it go into?

I don't think it would be at its best in a room full of Ethan Allens's tavern pine stuff of the same sort. I think it has to be a piece that you consider separately, somehow. But I don't know what the mix would be.

That table would be perfect for the busy family with tots and a dog. I'd put bumpers on it, some hidden hooks underneath and some cheerios on the top. Then all you would need is a few harnesses.

My college boyfriend's parents had that table in their family room. I loved it! And the funny thing is that decor wise, the house was very plain and boring. Not much on the walls, no accessories, comfortable but plain furniture, neutral colors. I always thought it strange that such a boring house had such a quirky piece.

Nicole

For some reason I kind of like the EA piece, like art or something. Would I use it, nah.

I see it paired with metal, though a bit obvious. Maybe I'm just thinking about a living room that could inflict maximum physical injury.

Visions of wafting insence, rainbow pattern beaded curtains, tassled floor cushions, and flowing Lava lamps. Complete the vision with monkey bowls and thimble tea cups and fondue pots.

Hmmm, wonder where that hallucination came from ;-) My friend called it an Attitude Susan table. Her parents were very 1950s Beatnik and unique set/scene designers which carried over to their household visions... Loved visiting there!

I was thinking the field room at Fair Lane, but it's too refined.

The other day I came across some "Granny Chic" furniture and decorative items on Joss & Main which sent me on a google seach of said Granny Chic style. There might be a modified way to use the EA table in that sort of set-up. I think the granny look sofa would have to have arms in the same wood tone. It would have to be granny chic with a refined edge though.

Here is a modified granny chic sofa that might work.

Now I'm starting to get the incense hallucination, too!

What an era...everything in the apartment came either from big trash day or the salvage yard, we cooked big one-pot meals for whoever was hanging around, we had a water bed and a VW bus, and I only wore embroidered denim and things that came from, I don't know, Ecuador, or that I made out of Indian bedspreads.

Far out.... Too many memories floating around here.

That EA table is kinda pretty, but I'm not buying. It and I would have too many battles. Reminds me of something I'd see in one of those barns-turned-into-a-house.

Fori, I just spit out my tea in laughter.

Or make it easy to put your keys in the bowl when you're mildly incapacitated but still want to get in on the swinging

It was the 70s,after all.

Thanks for the laugh.

I can see it in one of those all shades of white/cream rooms with dark flooring and beams (and, of course, the requisite "pop of color" $200 a shot pillows). Or with a trendy ikat inspired print couch and some vaguely Moroccan accessories. But I think it would look best in my LR, hanging with the elegantly wasted leather couch, oriental rug, brass lamps, stone FP and doug fir ceiling. I don't know, it just has character IMO and the fact that it turns is a bonus, "Yo, don't pass the hors d'oeuvres, just turn the table!"

sandyponder

Just read jterrilynn's post for comprehension, and howled.

I'm mother of English ancestry who believes firmly in harnesses for toddlers. I had one, and my children had them, and you can imagine the looks I got. I didn't care. I believed in keeping them at least as safe as we keep our dogs. My hands were free, my children had a controlled radius to move in, and they didn't spend half their time in public with their shoulders coming out of their sockets.

brownsmom, I had a UK harness for 2nd son who could not be contained in a stroller, playpen, walker or carseat and he even dismantled his crib. I actually had to attach him to the coffee table leg just to use the restroom. In public...yes, lots of strange looks. It's more socially acceptable to have them harnessed in a container on wheels.
I would have loved a table like that at the time.

Bronwynsmom--loved your pst re: harnesses. Never say never.

Didn't think I would ever use one until I had twins. It was either use harnesses or never go out without the fear of one running out in traffic while the other one gets away.

Strange the looks we get from others because of our harnesses. One lady even made a remark to my face about keeping my boys on leashes.

Interesting that we woman think of things to do with unusual furnishings in a practical sense, or at least I do. Shame there is not more men on this site (that isn't just lurking). It would be fun if Pal posted some obscure furniture piece and asked for posible practical uses with VISUALS. I like to think there could be a race for patents. I bet it would be a hoot on the differences between the sexes in how the pieces would be used.

Any idea where this is now?

They show up occasionally on eBay. That's where I saw this one.

More rustic than the EA one above, but there is one on eBay right now, in Sellersville, PA for $399.00. Four people are watching it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-GIANT-WOODEN-GEAR-TOP-COFFEE-TABLE-SPINNING-COG-MID-CENTURY-INDUSTRIAL-/221855096921?hash=item33a7982059

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-Vintage-Antique-Gear-Shaped-Coffee-Table-Ethan-Allen-Cogwheel-/131599942273

This is so funny-- this table was on CL here in PA a few years ago (maybe even the same one Pal found). My nephew, the engineer, was seriously considering it for his first house. I think it has some charm but I can't see it in my house.

Funny, I was just talking to a friend of mine who has an actual industrial gear that she wants to use as a table, and is trying to figure out how to do a base for it (the center projects out further than the edges, She has something now that isn't tippy but it's too short and her boyfriend set it on top of a box to raise it. Not ideal.