If you’ve ever found yourself needing a coffee table or a side table from time to time but only have room for one, this concept might be your thing. At least, if you’re willing to put in some work.

Space isn’t always easy to come by these days, even less so space-saving furniture. Many people try to buy modular furniture they can take apart or combine as needed, while others try their hand at multi-functional products that combine two or more features into a single physical space. And then there are those that can change their form as the need requires, performing a different function depending on its configuration or arrangement. That is what this “reversible” design concept tries to achieve, switching between being a coffee table or a side table, depending on your need or mood. It does take a bit of assembly, but that, too, serves its own purpose.

Designer: Chenkai Zhang

Some tables are made to serve any purpose, but there are those that are clearly meant to be one and not the other. Coffee tables have surfaces that are often placed closer to the floor as a home for books, magazines, and coffee or teacups. In contrast, side tables are more on the level of a sitting person but can even sometimes be for standing use. The two are almost like polar opposites as far as height goes, so it might not be easy to imagine how a single table can be both.

“REVERSE” is an attempt to do just that by reusing the same base and same table surface, whether in the form of a coffee table or a side table. The only thing that changes is the middle support structure that determines how high the table can be. Simply reverse its orientation and you can either raise or lower the table, switching between its two functions. The one caveat is that the table’s height seems to be fixed in both situations, with no room for slightly raising or lowering the tabletop.

All the parts of the REVERSE table are removable, held together by screws designed like faucet handles. Not only does this make it easier to turn the screws, but it also gives the table a unique visual flair. Where other tables would try hard to hide those screws, the reverse is true for REVERSE, flaunting the gold-plated parts that contrast with the deep black of the tubular legs. The wooden top also creates this contrast with its light maple color, which is a close match to those screws.

This does mean that switching between the two modes of the table takes a bit of work, unscrewing and rearranging the parts, which could take more than just a few minutes. Owners are unlikely to switch between a coffee table and a side table that often anyway, but at least the option is available to them when they need it. At the same time, this reduces the packaging space it requires since you can take the table apart before transporting it.