round couch table with black slade plate by draenert studios

Light, sound and 180 million-year-old fossils are just some of the adventurous concepts furniture maker and designer Peter Draenert played with across his career. He creatively expanded the definition of a table beyond form and function, while including many different materials, ranging from marble and glass to granite, wood and travertine. 

In 1968, Draenert and his wife Karin started the Draenert Company in Friedrichshafen, Germany. During the 1970s, the company made tables from oil slate with help from the state and research teams in Holzmaden, Germany. Using other materials like steel and natural stone, Draenert emphasized the artistic qualities of his furniture while adding functional aspects like drawers and hidden compartments. 

Each of his dining tables included easy-to-use extensions, while his coffee tables featured a swivel plate or multiple levels for extra storage and display. In the 2000s, he experimented with light. Some of his tables doubled as alternative light sources, while others, like those made with German artist Walter Giers, used changing lights and patterns.

While best remembered for his tables, a range of furniture manufactured by his company has been collected by museums, including an armchair at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and a cabinet at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

On 1stDibs, find a collection of vintage Peter Draenert seating and tables.