Tablecloth. Prototype 2009.

At first glance the tablecloth appears to be a traditional white floral damask, but it contains the most wonderful secret; a hidden pattern that first shows when wet. Sooner or later someone is bound to spill, but where this person usually feels clumsy and embarrassed, he will now feel fortunate. An everyday negative situation is turned into a positive experience.

Some stains, like red wine, are hard to clean and might leave vague colour traces after washing. But since these traces will be formed as figures, the tablecloth will not look stained. The figures will form a pale, shadowy pattern that will grow as the tablecloth is being used and spilled on over time.

This creates stories and can contribute in giving the tablecloth sentimental value – important in a society where we seem to have an  increasingly superficial relation to the objects we surround ourselves with.

The Underfull Tablecloth has not yet reached the production stage, but as a concept it has nevertheless earned a status as a defining work of conceptual and critical design within the academics of the design field.

View an Underfull video here.

Photo credits: Kristine Bjaadal