Design by Jhane Barnes

Whether you’re looking at a dress or a table, the proportions have to be right. "If I’m creating a textile pattern I’ll be very close to it on the computer screen then I’ll have to get up and look at it from across the room to make sure the elements are all balanced." Furniture is similar, she says. "Look at it from across the room to see if the distance between the legs and the top of the chair is balanced."

Balance is a dominating force in Barnes’ table designs; Equal and Divide are both symmetrical and sophisticated.