Table (furniture)

Table (furniture)

A table is a form of furniture with a flat and satisfactory horizontal upper surface used to support objects of interest, for storage, show, and/or manipulation. The surface must be held stable; for reasons of simplicity, this is done by support from below by either a column, a "base" or at least three columnar "stands".

A table is also known as a bar, a bench, a board, a bureau, a desk, a lectern and a pulpit.

Common design elements include:

• rectangular, rounded, or semi-circular top surfaces
• legs arranged in two or more similar pairs
• several geometries of folding table that can be emptied and then collapsed into a smaller volume
• heights ranging up and down from the most common 18-to-30-inch range, often reflecting the height of chairs or bar stools used as seating for people making use of a table, as for eating or performing various manipulations of objects resting on a table
• presence or absence of drawers
• expansion of the surface by insertion of leaves or locking hinged drop leaf sections into horizontal position.

Desks are tables specifically intended for information-manipulation tasks, including writing and use of interactive electronics.