Art of spin

In a brave attempt to beat Private Eye's 'Pseud's Corner column' at its own game, we bring you this gem from a company of interior design consultants that was instructed to kit out the new reception area at City law firm Lovells.

First comes the brief: 'The reception area of Atlantic House needed two tables which would be works of art in their own right but would also be functional and hold large vases of flowers.' That International Art Consultants/Art for Offices managed to pull off the task superbly cannot be in doubt (see picture below).

But so elated were the designers with the result that more pseudy words gushed forth: 'The project highlights how the disciplines of fine and applied art can be merged, even in the field of furniture.' Of course it does.

However, Obiter, being a bit of a philistine, likes tables to be tables, vases to be vases, and art to be...

well, lovely paintings of boats, actually.