Tavolini impilabili in palissandro, set da 3

Gathered together, these three tables settle into one calm, low line of dark wood. This set of Scandinavian Modern nesting tables in rosewood was designed by Severin Hansen and made by Haslev Møbelsnedkeri in Denmark in the 1960s, a long table with two smaller companions that slide neatly beneath it and step out whenever the room needs another surface.

Hansen's tables for Haslev belong to the quiet, exacting side of Danish design, where the beauty lies in proportion and in the cabinetmaker's hand rather than in ornament. Look at the corners. Each slender, tapering leg rises into the frame through a crisp mitre, so leg and top seem cut from a single block of wood. The tops stay thin, the legs lean very slightly as they narrow, and the whole set feels light on its feet. Nesting tables suited the more compact homes of the period, and this set shows how gracefully the idea could be handled.

The rosewood is the soul of these pieces. On the long top the figure curls and ripples like smoke, mellowed to a warm, lighter tone, while the two smaller tables keep a deeper chocolate colour with the grain flickering through. Set the long table in front of a sofa or beneath a window with books and a lamp. When friends come round, the small tables slip out to hold a glass of wine or a cup of coffee, then disappear again when the evening is over.