The Uncomfortable: The Spanish design ‘democratising discomfort’

We’ve all been there – stuck on the corner of the table during family gatherings, trying to get comfy in the face of an inconveniently placed table leg. To straddle or not to straddle?

Well, design collective Capitalism has found a way to ensure everyone at the dinner table gets in on the discomfort. Meet The Uncomfortable: the 34-legged dining table with a leg for everyone.

“In almost all middle-class Spanish families, there’s always someone stuck with the leg,” the anonymous creatives behind the Capitalism project told Dezeen. “We decided to democratise the discomfort with a table where everyone gets a leg.”

At 2.75 meters long, the table’s 34 legs were purposefully designed not for practicality, but for conceptual irony. The Uncomfortable flips the usual notion of table design, prioritising concept over practicality.

“The concept challenges traditional design by not aiming to be useful or functional but instead addressing this inequality in an ironic way,” the group told Dezeen.

The legs themselves are a mix of custom-made and pre-existing designs, sourced from some of the most popular tables in Spain.

“Since our goal was to represent a collection of tables within a single piece, many of the legs were taken from tables that have been bestsellers in Spain,” the creatives explained. “Others were custom-designed to balance the composition and create contrast.”

The table’s visual impact is further heightened by the diverse materials used. Chrome-plated, galvanised steel legs shine next to copper and methacrylate, and are crowned by a solid oak tabletop, creating a striking contrast – also mirroring the chaos caused by the table come meal times.

“We wanted the table to feel timeless – something that wasn’t tied to any specific style or era, yet somehow belonged to all of them,” said the collective.

The piece is currently on display at Madrid’s CUPRA City Garage. Capitalism, an anonymous creative collective, describes itself as a group dedicated to reflecting on and challenging the paradoxes of modern society.