Jacques Adnet Coffee Table by Gubi - Honest Review

Here's a small furniture update and review. I bought the Gubi Adnet Coffee Table a while back, and I've had enough time with it now to give you my completely honest take on what it's actually like to own one of these things in a real London flat. 

So if you're on the fence, and let's be real, at this price point you probably should be, start reading. Let's get into it.

First Impressions

When the table arrived, I'll admit I was impressed. You know that thing where you've spent weeks looking at something online, reading every product listing, zooming into every photo, and you've basically already decided it's either going to be the best thing you've ever bought or a colossal mistake? 

But when I unwrapped it and set it down, it stopped me in my tracks. The thing is beautiful. The round glass top sits inside a hand-stitched leather rim, and three curved steel legs- also wrapped in leather- sweep down and meet at the centre. Then you've got these three gilded brass rings where the rim meets the legs, and they catch the light in a way that makes the whole piece feel a bit like jewellery for your living room.

The Design

The Adnet Coffee Table was originally designed in the 1950s by Jacques Adnet, a French architect and interior designer who was absolutely obsessed with combining materials that, at the time, nobody else was really putting together. Leather, glass, and metal. He'd been working with Hermès by creating furniture that brought that same sense of fashion-house luxury into living spaces. He was one of the first people to wrap furniture frames in stitched saddle leather, and you can feel that heritage in this table.

Gubi, the Danish design house behind the reissue, has done a fantastic job of honouring the original. It doesn't feel like a watered-down reproduction. The craftsmanship is there. The leather stitching is tight and precise. The brass rings have a proper weight to them. And the glass top has a satisfying thickness that makes it feel substantial without being clunky.

What I love most about the design is its restraint. It merges Adnet's Art Deco roots with functionalist principles- everything on the table has a reason to be there. There's no ornamentation for the sake of it. The brass rings anchor the leather to the legs. 

Quality and Build: Does It Hold Up?

The build quality is excellent. The steel frame and leather construction feel solid and durable. This isn't a coffee table that wobbles when you lean on it or feels flimsy when you set down a stack of books. At nearly 27kg for the larger size, it has a reassuring heft to it.

The leather will aged nicely too, which was something I was genuinely worried about. I went with the tan option, and over the months it's developed a slightly deeper tone and a more supple feel. It's the kind of patina that makes the table look better with time, not worse. If you're someone who appreciates how good leather develops character, you'll enjoy watching this happen.

The glass top is tough. I've put hot mugs on it (with coasters), stacked books, plonked down trays of food for film nights. It wipes clean in seconds given that it is made from glass, which is genuinely one of its biggest selling points for day-to-day life.

My only minor annoyance? Fingerprints. Glass is glass, and this table will show every single smudge if the light catches it right. If you're someone who can't stand that, keep a cloth handy. It's not a dealbreaker by any means, but it is a reality of living with a glass coffee table.

Functionality

The table comes in two sizes- 70cm and 100cm diameter- and I went for the larger one. In my flat, it sits between a sofa and a pair of armchairs, and the proportions are spot on. The height is about 42cm, which is right in the sweet spot for a coffee table — low enough that it doesn't block sightlines across the room, high enough that you're not hunching over to grab your drink.

The circular shape is a godsend in a smaller living space, by the way. No sharp corners to catch your shins on, no awkward edges jutting out into walkways. People move around it naturally, and it works brilliantly for social situations so everyone seated around it can reach it comfortably.

One thing worth mentioning: the glass top isn't removable. It sits in the leather rim and that's where it stays. This isn't a table you'll be disassembling for storage or reconfiguring. What you see is what you get, and honestly, I think that's just the nature of luxury designer furniture like these.

If you're someone who needs a coffee table to stash magazines and remotes, this might not be for you. But personally, I prefer the look of airy coffee tables. The open legs give it a light quality that makes the room feel bigger.

Style: What Goes With It

The Adnet coffee table is one of those pieces that works with almost anything. I've got a mix of mid-century and contemporary furniture in my place, and the table sits right in the middle of it all without clashing or feeling out of place. The leather gives it warmth, the glass keeps it modern, and the brass adds just enough glamour without tipping into flashy territory.

I've seen it styled in everything from minimal Scandi interiors to rich, maximalist living rooms filled with velvet and dark wood, and it looks at home in all of them. That versatility is a genuine strength. You're not buying a trend piece that'll feel dated in three years; this is a design that's been relevant since the 1950s and shows no signs of fading.

If you already own the Adnet mirror (which is also on my "designer furniture wishlist") and a lot of people who buy one end up buying the other, they pair together beautifully without looking too awkward.

The Price: Is It Worth It?

This is probably where you'd ask- how much did you pay? This table is expensive. It's a proper investment piece. But here's my honest take after living with it: I don't regret the purchase which costs me over 1500 GBP.

What you're paying for is a genuine design classic, produced by a company that takes quality seriously, using materials that will last for years and look better as they age. You're getting a piece with real provenance. Adnet's partnership with Hermès, his role in shaping mid-century French modernism, the fact that his original designs now sell for serious money on the vintage market. The Gubi reissue lets you own a piece of that history without hunting down a seventy-year-old antique.

Could you find a cheaper glass coffee table? Of course. But would it make you stop and look at it every time you walk past? Probably not.

My Overall Thoughts

The Jacques Adnet Coffee Table by Gubi is, in my opinion, one of the MOST beautiful coffee tables you can buy. It's impeccably made, timelessly designed, and genuinely lovely to live with. The price will make your wallet cry, But if you care about design, appreciate quality materials, and want something that'll be in your home for decades rather than years, this is the one.

It's the kind of piece that earns its place in a room. And months on, I still catch myself admiring it from across the flat, which is really all you can ask of good luxury designer furniture.