Poliform Crew ceramic tables

Ceramic, used structurally

Ceramic usually appears in furniture as a thin surface glued over a core, chosen because it resists heat and stains. Crew treats it as the material of the piece rather than a coating, which changes the proportions: the tops are generous, the edges are honest about their thickness, and the table reads as one solid object.

That matters outdoors more than indoors. A ceramic surface does not fade in ultraviolet light, does not mark when a wet glass stands on it for an afternoon, and does not need the seasonal oiling that a wooden table asks for. In a climate with real summers, it is the lowest maintenance top on this site.

The vases are part of the same thought: pure material against an enamelled finish, in a group rather than one at a time. They do the job that planting normally does on a terrace, which is to give the eye something at a different height from the furniture.

The practical warning is weight and impact. Ceramic is hard and brittle at once: it will outlast wood, and it will chip if something heavy is dropped on an edge. On a roof terrace the weight is welcome; up a narrow staircase it is the part of the delivery to plan.

The top is ceramic all the way through, not a facing glued to a core.