December 14, 2005

What Would Le Corbusier Do?

corbusier_dining_table.jpg

First shown at the 1929 Salon d'Automne in Paris, the LC-6 dining table by Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, and Charlotte Perriand, instantly became a design classic. It has been produced by Cassina under exclusive license from the Le Corbusier Foundation since 1964. The height of its sleek glass top can be adjusted between 27.2 and 29 inches, but other than that, it's near-perfect proportions have remained unchanged.

DT reader Jeremy's daughter Holden, on the other hand, has undergone quite a few changes since her debut in Autumn 2004. The most notable--and alarming--changes: a rather significant increase in height [in the high 20-inches, at least] and a sudden desire to walk [and to run into sharp edges of high-design, glass top dining tables].

Since he's grown rather attached to both, Jeremy would like it if these two could get along without serious disfigurement, either of the kid or of the table.] Corbu's dead, so we can't ask him what to do. [He'd probably say, "demand the governess keep the children in the nursery" anyway.] A ThudGuard's out of the question. And the Toddler Shield, even in black, is probably the babyproofing of last resort. Has anyone had success with a less ugly option?

10 Comments

Growing up in a house with a glass dining table and an ever changing number of toddler aged foster children, I have witnessed my parents solution to the same problem. The issue is that it was about 18 years ago, and I have no specific details to share. They purchased and installed a soft, clear plastic piece on each corner that extended about 1 inch in each direction of the corner. I have no idea what they were called, where to get them or how much they would cost. But... there is a solution out there.

[I've never seen these in black like this, only crap brown. Clear would be sweet. I see they're sold as "FDA-approved," which probably has nothing to do with safety, only chewable toxicity.]

If you google "clear corner protectors table", there are a few products out there, however the adhesive included is not great.

Find a way to make them stick (maybe with clear caulking silicone?) and you're set.

[yeah, those CSP corners reportedly fall off, too. I can't imagine wanting to permanently attach something with caulk; I'd rather just shadow the kid for a year or two when she's in the dining room. BTW, I called Cassina; they got nothing. Nothing but sympathy, I'm sure. -ed.]

Have a custom top made with a 1-2" radius on the corners? Corbu would probably smash it in disgust, but whatever.

My wife and I had been looking for ugly corners since our daughter can now stand. Since she's German and those Europeans definitely have design and style down compared to cheap, fugly American products, we opted for the clear corners Kidsroom. They're only 2 euro and they ship to the States. we've purchased a lot of our safety and wooden furniture products from there.

And they're the best corners we've found that are less offensive.

Glass table tops are not something I particularly like, so I have no recommendations on corners.

What we do, however, for reasons other than the table, is just currently deny free-roaming access to the dining room via gates.

Not all setups are gate-able, I understand...

We have a plain old wooden table, which still packs quite a punch if you ram your forehead into it, but we haven't ever done any baby proofing on it. It seems to be that once they knock their heads on it they learn pretty quickly to duck.

But what do I know, we also make them sleep under the sink. Is that wrong?

As far as kids' craniums go, Corbu = bad, Noguchi = good.

Woah there. I just followed the link to the German kidsroom, and there's a pretty far out stroller there called the Hartan RS one, Window Luftkammerr”der kugelgelagert, Set 4-tlg. Just wanted to point that out.

and for the clear corners, so a search for "Kantenschutz"

I'm with Kaz: temporarily gate up the dining room if you can, and wait until she's a nice 40" tall, and then you're golden.

[dude, that stroller is a mess. -ed.]

Put a ceramic black panther on there. Hang a couple samurai swords on the wall. And call it a day.

[true, leaving samurai swords lying around is one way to not have to worry about the table. -ed.]

Hey, what's wrong with the Hartan?

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