JOIN, A Table Inspired By An Ancient Japanese Puzzle

If the thought of assembling a Billy bookcase fills you with dread, then we've got a table for you: Designed by Ding 3000, JOIN has three oak legs that fit together like a beginner's puzzle, no tools required. Just place the glass top on the base, and you're done. See, putting crap together can actually be fun!

The table is a spinoff of the German firm's JOIN cutlery, a set of notched utensils that fit together into a so-called square knot to form a miniature tabletop sculpture. The design was inspired by an ancient Japanese toy that the designers found online. "All of a sudden, what we had here was not only a utensil but, in fact, a completely new form of table decoration!? says Carsten Schelling, one-third of Ding 3000, on the firm's Web site. ?Now you can really forget about folding all those napkins into the shape of swans."

The table is still in the prototype stage. Once in production, the tabletop will be offered in different sizes and colors.