Picnik

Picnik – a table for two, please

By 2002 it was clear that Gargantua was here to stay. The Extempore range, a trendsetter in combining wood and aluminium created four years later, was also well on its way to becoming a real design classic. By this time a consistently growing number of Extremis products found their way to foreign markets and became especially popular in large cities. This metropolitan atmosphere inspired Dirk Wynants to write the next chapter in the Extremis saga. He noticed that major cities had a lot of large buildings with limited outdoor space. And he also realized that more and more families all over the world consisted of two people. Picnik, for which Dirk Wynants appealed to the expertise of Xavier Lust, was the perfect answer to these urban demands...

Design icon

This table for two is in fact much more than just a table seating two people. Picnik was of course primarily designed as a table and bench seat combination for small outdoor spaces. But thanks to its striking looks – both solid and stylized at the same time – Picnik is also frequently used indoors. Combining several Picnik tables in (semi) public spaces creates an almost artistic effect. It is therefore not at all surprising that Tate Modern chose Picnik for its visitor resting spots. After having won seven design awards, it is clear that Picnik will go down in design history as a true style icon.

Functionality meets style

Is Picnik then merely a stylistic gem? Definitely not. By using special cutting and bending techniques each Picnik can be made from exactly half a standard sheet of aluminium, thus completely eliminating all production waste. Its curved shapes do not only provide the necessary sturdiness, they also guarantee the perfect drainage of liquids. So Picnik is very maintenance-friendly, and as it is stackable as well, it is also really space-saving, a definite plus from a logistics point of view. In short: another textbook example of Extremis design.