One of the appealing things about furniture from assemble-it-yourself places might be the fact that you get a box full of parts, and like a small child with a box of Legos or Tinkertoys (assuming kids nowadays still play with them), proceed to make something useful out of a container full of miscellany. However, not all things that come in boxes or bags can be considered fine furniture, even if they are the product of a team of experienced designers. Recently, though, I came across something that I think qualifies for the “Fine” moniker, and satisfies that need for assembly that many of us have.

I’m talking about Bulgarian architect and designer Petar Zaharinov’s line of puzzle furniture that looks like a bag full of grownup wooden blocks. However, when you put them together–voilá!–you are the proud (and accomplished) owner of a Praktrik table. Designed in the spirit of burr puzzles, these tables come in two types: “impossible” and “sliding.” Although the former sounds as though it shouldn’t be sold as a viable product, it actually refers to the fact that putting together the table is theoretically impossible according to the math and to solid geometry. Luckily, wood is a material with some flex, and by bending the pieces just a bit right before the joints are seated, you can mate the pieces successfully. “Sliding” collection tables are a bit more straightforward, since their assembly requires only sliding movements to get all of the parts to align and lock.

Ingeniously designed and seemingly cut to precision tolerances, these tables come in their own handy shopping bag as well, and you can avail yourself of an option to purchase glass from a local supplier to bring down the cost (which, by the way, ranges between €205-400EUR, about $278-$510USD). And since they are sent from Europe, remember to add shipping and a 3-4 week lead time, at least.

But hey–they do take Paypal. Thank goodness for small favors.

A puzzle table  from Petar Zaharinov's PRAKTRIK line. Based on burr puzzles, the tables are clever and eye/mind-boggling.