Poliform Henry table

The rare extendable one

Most tables in this catalog are one size. Henry extends, which changes what it is for: a table that seats six on an ordinary Tuesday and ten at Thanksgiving is a different proposition from a table that is permanently sized for the largest dinner of the year. In an American dining room that gets used twice a week and heavily twice a year, this is usually the right answer.

The structure is solid wood on the indoor version, with a finish that carries the weight of a large top without a thick apron under it. That matters when people sit down: an apron is what knees hit, and Henry was drawn to keep it out of the way.

The 2025 outdoor version is a full material change rather than a coat of varnish: aluminium and teak, detailed for rain and sun. It is the same silhouette, so a house can run the indoor table in the dining room and the outdoor one on the terrace without the two looking like cousins.

The sun bed uses the same aluminium and teak construction, drawn for pool decks. Teak greys in the sun if left alone, which most owners prefer, and can be kept honey coloured with oiling twice a season.

A table that seats six on Tuesday and ten in November is a different object from one that always seats ten.