Adjustable Table E 1027 – ClassiCon

Designed by
Eileen Gray

This is the classic among classics. Its ingeniously proportioned, distinctive form has made this height-adjustable table one of the most popular design icons of the 20th century. It is named after the house E 1027 ‘Maison en bord de mer’ that Eileen Gray built for herself and for her partner, Jean Badovici. The code-name likewise comes from: E is for Eileen, 10 for Jean (J is the 10th letter of the alphabet), 2 for B(adovici) and 7 for G(ray). In the 1920s Eileen Gray experimented with various versions of the design of the Adjustable Table E1027. As she changed the look of the table with a black metal top as an alternative to the crystal glass top, she also selected black as the colour for the frame. The matte black of the coating clearly emphasises the lines of the table and its form – a version she considered especially elegant. Together with Zeev Aram, Eileen Gray developed her Adjustable Table E 1027 for production in the 1970s; they both decided to produce the chrome-plated version first, with the intention to introduce the table frame in black at a later date.