4 Chair Dining Table Set in Carved Teak with Blue Inset Top

Colour on a dining table has to survive being wiped several times a day, which rules out almost every way of applying it directly. Paint on timber under a lacquer will eventually show a wipe pattern; a stained or dyed surface fades unevenly where the light falls hardest.

So the blue on this table is not on the timber at all. It is painted on the underside of the glass panel that forms the centre, and the panel is then set into the surround colour-side down. What you touch, wipe and set a glass on is plain glass; the colour is beneath it, sealed between the glass and the timber, where nothing can reach it.

Painting in reverse means working back to front - the topmost layer of the finished image is the first one laid, and every stroke has to be right immediately, because nothing can be painted over. It is an old technique and it is why the colour looks the way it does: seen through glass rather than through a varnish, so it is deeper and slightly cooler than the same pigment laid on a surface.

The panel is bedded on a felt-backed rebate with clearance around it, as any glass set into timber must be, so seasonal movement in the frame never reaches it.

Set: one oval dining table with four chairs, made together as one commission.

Frames: solid teak throughout, hand-carved by master Indian artisans.

Top: oval, with a glass centre panel reverse-painted on its underside and set colour-side down into a moulded gilded surround.

Panel fitting: bedded on a felt-backed rebate with clearance on every side, so movement in the timber never reaches the glass.

Base: heavily carved openwork on scrolled feet.

Chairs: tall pierced carved backs framing quilted upholstered panels, on scrolled plinth feet.

Upholstery: quilted grey cloth as photographed; any fabric or leather available.

Finish: hand-applied gold over ivory; other tones available.

Options: inset colour to your choice, or omitted for a plain timber or stone centre.

Dimensions: custom sizes made to order - final measurements confirmed in writing before production.

The reverse-painted panel travels in the table rather than separately - it is bedded in its rebate and cannot be re-seated on site - so the top is crated with a rigid board across its full face standing clear of the glass, and edge-protected around its whole curved perimeter.

The carved openwork base is packed with shaped foam set into its openings rather than laid across them, and the scrolled feet boxed individually.

Chairs are crated individually and never nested, with the pierced backs packed using foam set into their openings, the quilted panels covered loosely so the quilting is not compressed, and the plinth feet boxed along both edges.

Unpack the chairs first, then the base, then the top - and carry the top by its frame rather than by the glass centre.

Delivery is free anywhere in India for the whole set, and every piece is guaranteed to arrive dent-free. If anything is wrong when the crates are opened, correcting it is our cost, and we commit to that before you order.

Production begins once the table size, the inset colour, chair count, upholstery and finish are confirmed in writing. The panel is painted in reverse, which cannot be corrected once laid, so the colour is agreed and sampled before the work starts.

Dispatch waits for the gilding to cure fully. We share the schedule at confirmation, update you as each stage completes, and send tracking as soon as the crates leave us.

Open the crates with the delivery team present and check every piece, including the painted centre, before they leave. Send us your access measurements at the order stage and we set the top size to a dimension that will reach the room.

Every frame in the set carries a 20-year warranty on solid teak frame and joinery - the table, its carved base and all four chairs on identical terms.

A lifetime warranty against termite damage runs on every piece, resting on teak's own oils rather than on an applied treatment, and issued in writing with the set.

Both documents are tied to your order and handed over on delivery, so the record stays with you. If a covered fault appears on one piece, send photographs and we repair or replace that piece alone.

The painted panel, upholstery and gilding are handled separately from the structural cover. Because the colour is sealed beneath the glass, it is protected from everything that happens on the table's surface - and the panel's dimensions stay on file so a replacement can be made and painted to match.