1970s Alvar Aalto Nesting Tables Model E88 – Set of 3

A beautiful trio of Alvar Aalto Nesting Tables Model E88. Made in Finland, imported by ICF. Alvar Aalto/ICF mark/label on the underside of each.

This bent birch modular nesting table set can serve combined as side tables, coffee tables, or be used singularly, spread across a room to provide multiple table surfaces. The solid birch L-legs are crafted using Alvar Aalto’s patented technique for the bending of wood.

The largest of the three tables measures 27 inches x 16.5 inches; Height 23 inches
Medium 16.5 inches X 23.5 inches; Height 20 inches
Small 16.5 inches x 20 inches; Height 17.5 inches

The Nesting Table 88 is a multifunctional table trio designed by Alvar Aalto in 1935. Made of veneered birch, Nesting Table 88 consist of three small tables of different sizes. The tables serve as coffee tables in the living room or side tables anywhere in the house, and when needed, they nest perfectly inside each other.

Artek tables are based on different combinations of Alvar Aalto’s L-legs and tabletops. Aalto introduced the bent L-leg for the first time in 1933, and it became a standard component in his furniture designs. Judging his importance as a designer and architect, Aalto considered the development of the L-leg as his greatest achievement – he called the L-leg as “the little sister of the architectonic column”. The development of the L-leg was revolutionary because it solved the problem of attaching legs directly to the tabletop in a completely new way – the leg could be fastened with screws directly to the tabletop, and the result was a solid and simple structure.