A dining table’s character comes from its base as much as its top. Cattelan Italia dining tables include the Butterfly, which pairs a glass top with a steel base for a considered contrast of transparency and structure. Other distinctive designs include Skorpio, with its geometric steel base, and Skorpio Keramik, with a ceramic tabletop.
Choosing between designs means weighing the tabletop material, base shape and overall silhouette, since each affects how a table reads in the room. Comparing these details across the collection helps you find a design that suits your space and the way you gather.
Start with the Butterfly’s materials, then compare popular models and the differences between their designs. Looking at base forms and tabletop materials can help you assess more than a striking image and identify the features that give each table its presence.
Key Takeaways
- Compare each table’s materials and silhouette to understand the distinct character it brings to a dining room.
- Use the featured models as a starting point for identifying which design details matter most to you.
- Look across the collections to see how different tabletop and base choices shape the overall impression.
- Consider how a sculptural base will relate to your room, then use Benjamin & Maxwell’s In Home Visualizer as a next step in exploring your choice.
The Butterfly table's steel base and glass top
The Butterfly brings glass and steel together in a clear, contrasting composition. The glass forms the dining surface, while the steel creates the supporting structure below. When considering the table for your room, focus on how this material contrast shapes its overall appearance.
With a glass top, the base remains visible from different viewpoints and becomes part of the table’s appearance. The steel foundation gives the lower portion a defined presence. Look at the Butterfly from the entrance, beside the chairs and from a seated position to see how the two materials work together in your room.
Consider the room around the table. Against a visually busy backdrop, a glass surface may feel lighter than an opaque top. In a more restrained dining room, the steel base can become a focal point. Compare the table with nearby furniture, flooring and lighting. For homeowners coordinating a broader interior refresh, pairing striking furniture with well-crafted architectural features from makers like Arborfield Joinery creates a cohesive setting. For instance, a distinctive base may stand out more beside simple chairs than among several competing forms.
Assess the design in a few steps. First, consider the top and base as one composition, rather than judging either material alone. Next, compare the steel shape with the lines of nearby chairs and furnishings. Finally, picture the glass surface in different lighting, since changing light affects its appearance and how visible objects beneath it are.
The Butterfly’s appeal comes from the interplay of its materials: the glass top establishes the upper plane, while the steel base anchors the design visually. If you’re comparing dining tables, ask whether you want a visually open surface and a base that remains part of the room’s character. These features offer a practical starting point for narrowing your choices.
Bestselling table models
Butterfly, Skorpio and Skorpio Keramik are useful starting points for comparing Cattelan Italia dining tables. Their differences include tabletop material and base form. Compare these features with the visual role you want your dining table to play, rather than treating the designs as interchangeable.
Butterfly pairs a glass top with a steel base, contrasting a transparent surface with a defined support. If you want the base to remain visually present, consider how its steel structure contributes to the table’s overall appearance. The glass top also gives Butterfly a different character from a design with a ceramic surface.
Skorpio offers another point of comparison, with its geometric steel base. Its angular structure makes the support a prominent design feature. Consider how those lines relate to nearby furnishings. Simple chair silhouettes, for example, can let the base stand out clearly.
Skorpio Keramik adds a ceramic tabletop to the model comparison. The table was introduced in 2015, giving readers a concrete reference point when exploring the collection’s designs. Compare its ceramic top with Butterfly’s glass surface, then consider which material better suits the atmosphere you want around the table. The choice changes the table’s overall expression.
Use these steps to refine your shortlist:
- Choose whether a glass or ceramic tabletop better fits your preferred look.
- Compare the Butterfly steel base with Skorpio’s geometric steel structure.
- Look at the table alongside your chairs and other strong shapes in the room.
- Decide whether the top or the base should draw more attention.
The distinctions are straightforward: Butterfly pairs glass and steel, while Skorpio has a geometric steel base and Skorpio Keramik features a ceramic tabletop. Use these details to guide your comparison, keeping in mind that the right design depends on your dining room.
Dining table collections
Cattelan Italia’s table collections reflect a history that began with marble and glass tables. Giorgio and Silvia Cattelan founded the family business in 1979, before it expanded into a broader contemporary-home collection. That background offers useful context: compare each dining table as part of a design vocabulary, not simply as an isolated surface. Butterfly, Skorpio, and Skorpio Keramik provide named examples for beginning that comparison.
Start with each model’s defining feature. Butterfly combines a glass top with a steel base; Skorpio has a geometric steel base; Skorpio Keramik features a ceramic tabletop. These differences help you compare the collection without assuming that every model shares the same materials or character. They also give you useful terms for describing the table you’re looking for.
The company describes its furniture as 100% Made in Italy. For a reader comparing collections, that statement gives a broader context for the tables’ Italian design identity, while each model’s named features remain the clearest way to tell them apart. Keep those two levels distinct: provenance describes the collection’s wider identity, and the model details guide a more specific choice.
- Start with Butterfly if a glass top and steel base suit your room.
- Compare Skorpio when a geometric steel base is the detail you want to explore.
- Consider Skorpio Keramik if a ceramic tabletop is central to your preference.
Next, consider the overall balance you want in the dining space. For example, a tabletop that draws the eye creates a different impression from a base with a strong geometric outline. Compare the named models beside your chairs, lighting, and wall décor. Introducing fine art photography prints from Galerie Prints can help establish a balanced backdrop that complements a sculptural table without overwhelming it. This keeps your search grounded in the proportions and visual weight already present in the room.
Use the model names as starting points when exploring the wider range. A clear comparison records each table’s defining material and base form. Butterfly, Skorpio and Skorpio Keramik make a useful initial shortlist, but their differences matter more than any assumed ranking. Decide which qualities suit your room, then use those priorities to guide your search.
Dining tables with sculptural bases
A sculptural base can make a dining table’s support a central design feature. Skorpio illustrates this with a geometric steel base that gives the table a distinct structure. Look beyond the tabletop to see how the base’s lines shape the full composition. This helps you assess whether you want a focal point or a table that blends more quietly into the room.
Observe Skorpio from several viewpoints. From the entrance, notice the outline of the base against the tabletop. Beside the chairs, consider how its geometry relates to their forms. Then look across the table from a seated position. Each view reveals a different relationship between the base and nearby furnishings, helping you judge its presence in the room.
Next, consider the shapes already in the dining area. Simple chair silhouettes may put greater emphasis on Skorpio’s geometric base, while other prominent angular furnishings may create a more coordinated effect. Neither arrangement is automatically preferable. Ask whether the table’s lines complement the room or compete with its existing forms.
- Trace the outline: Observe Skorpio’s geometric base from the room entrance.
- Compare nearby forms: Look at the base beside your dining chairs and other furniture.
- Assess the whole table: Consider how the base and tabletop read together, not separately.
- Choose the visual role: Decide whether the table should become a focal point or join the room’s existing rhythm.
Use those observations to make a more deliberate shortlist. If Skorpio’s base draws your attention first, consider whether that sculptural quality suits the room’s overall character. If other furnishings already command attention, compare how a less prominent table might relate. This is a visual decision, not a ranking: the best fit depends on the shapes and emphasis you want around your dining table. Distinctive geometry can lend the base a lasting presence within the composition.
Andrea Lucatello is among the designers who have collaborated with Cattelan Italia. When comparing sculptural tables, consider how each base balances its visual character with the room’s existing forms.
Benjamin & Maxwell: Daum Crystal
Benjamin & Maxwell offers Cattelan Italia Furniture, making it a natural next step as you consider a dining table in the context of your home. The In Home Visualizer lets you view furniture and décor in your room, helping you explore how a piece fits the setting. Daum Crystal and Kosta Boda Glassware offer decorative accents to consider alongside your table.
Once you’ve compared table designs, consider the atmosphere around your dining area. Daum Crystal brings a decorative accent to the setting, while Kosta Boda Glassware offers glassware to explore. You can also browse Bonaldo Furniture for complementary furnishings.
Explore Cattelan Italia dining tables and complementary home furnishings at Benjamin & Maxwell.
Choose a table that belongs in your everyday life
A dining table is part of the room’s daily rhythm, not just its focal point. Before settling on a design, picture how you use the space, from shared meals and quiet conversations to occasions when the table anchors the room. Decide which qualities matter most, such as an expressive silhouette or a more understated presence. This makes it easier to assess Cattelan Italia dining tables against your home and habits.
Benjamin & Maxwell offers Cattelan Italia Furniture, a natural next step as you move from comparing designs to exploring furnishings. Use the In Home Visualizer to view furniture and décor in your room, and consider Daum Crystal for a decorative accent. Let the features that matter most guide what you explore next.
Contact Benjamin & Maxwell about dining tables to continue your search with a clear sense of the design you want.
Explore Cattelan Italia Dining Tables with Benjamin & Maxwell
Benjamin & Maxwell offers Cattelan Italia Furniture, including dining tables and other home furnishings.
When you’re ready to explore options beyond the features and styles discussed here, turn to Benjamin & Maxwell for furniture and home decor, including chairs, consoles, sofas, and cocktail tables.
Article by
Spencer Kay
Spencer is the founder and CEO of Benjamin & Maxwell and has created the most advanced technology-based website in the furniture industry. He has extensive experience in both technology and business operations having started a number of technology companies. Spencer holds a BA Degree in Economics and an MBA in International Business
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