Our standard overhang from table base to table edge is 20 inches. If you measure your leg from knee to hip, that's plenty of leg room for most of us, unless, of course, you're Usain Bolt or Manute Bol.

 

Increasingly we're getting requests for overhangs or cantilevers far greater than 20 inches. While humans are getting taller, we suspect this request has far more to do with designers' expanded visions of what a table should look like than actual need for more leg room.

 

In fact, we recently built a table with an 8-foot cantilever at one end. (Get comfy, Usain.) Another series of tables that left the factory this month had 40 inches between base and edge on each side of their unique triangular shape. And still others have large spans between bases, such as with collaborative tables.

 

Creating these unique shapes takes engineering know-how, a great steel frame manufacturer and, in some instances, a willingness by the client to bolt these tables to the floor. That means compromising the flexibility of moving your table for the aesthetics it brings.

 

As we continue to stretch our imaginations when it comes to furniture design, no doubt the trend toward long cantilevers will continue. Thankfully, we're feeling up to the challenge.