REVIEW – The “Infinity Table” has become internet famous recently for it’s optical illusion that looks like a portal to another dimension. I’m looking at the EP Design Lab’s version, called the Infinity Accent Table, for this review. It’s pretty cool, but there are some things you should know before getting one. To the review!
What is it?
The EP DesignLab Infinity Accent Table is a glass-topped end table that contains an optical illusion that looks like an infinitely deep portal to another dimension.
Hardware specs
- Wood laminate & tempered glass
- 23.6″L x 23.6″W x 20″H
- 66 lbs
- Voltage: 32 w
- 2 meter USB power chord
Design and features
The EP DesignLab Infinity Accent Table is a unique and interesting room accessory. It’s a simple black box that’s roughly 24″ by 24″ and 20″ high, with a thick smoked glass top. It’s perfectly functional. As you look at it from a distance, however, you can see something going on under that top…
Get a little closer and you can start to make out some detail. What is that? It looks like brick-faced well…?
Then you get close, and you see the full illusion: it looks like a well that seems to go on forever, with a ladder running up the side!
The trick is created using a combination of LED strip lights in the corners and a mirror at the base of the unit. My tester uses printed brick-pattern walls and a (real) wood ladder element to create the effect. EP DesignLab has another variant that uses a space pattern if Sci-Fi is more your jam. Here’s an overhead shot with extrnal lighting shut off so you can see the full effect.
You will need access to a power source. The LED lights are powered by a USB cable that runs out under the unit. Unfortunately, EP DesignLab does not supply a power adaptor so you’ll need your own to power it up.
The illusion is cool and subtle during daylight hours, but it becomes more dramatic as the sun goes down. Here’s a shot I took from the same position as above in the evening with overhead lights. Check out the glow…
… and it gets even more haunting is the other lighting in the area is extinguished.
The table itself is a hefty 70 pounds, and the tempered glass top is nice and thick. Combined with the coolness factor of the optical illusion, there is a lot to like here… but there are also some issues that you should consider before buying. Let’s take a look at the Setup as a starting point, and I’ll go through some of the other pros and cons in the Performance section.
Setup
I’m not going to sugarcoat this one: there are a number of issues with the assembly and material quality that I don’t think match up to the price point on the EP DesignLab Infinity Accent Table.
We’ll start with the packaging. All the parts and pieces come crammed in this box, with minimal padding or protection to prevent dents and scratches. It’s a heavy beastie too, so a jolt or bounce on the delivery truck could damage the pieces before arrival (except for the glass top, which is wrapped separately in this box).
Here I have all the components laid out. The panels are hefty laminated particle board. You’ll want to be careful disassembling the package so nothing gets damaged.
You get all the pieces and parts in a separate bag that includes all the tools you need for the build.
Your LED lighting components come nested in a foam pad, which is also good.
The instructions are just awful. They’re overly simple, and what’s printed doesn’t quite match up to reality in many places.
Here’s a great example. You’re supposed to connect panel 1 and 2, then connect the base (panel 3). But the panels aren’t labeled correctly, so you kind of have to guess. Here’s the printed guide…
… and here are the parts, which have no numbers or labels. Also note that there’s no bottom piece to anchor that bottom board when you try to connect it. You’ll need to shim it up with some cardboard or something to prevent the screws from tearing loose.
This is a recurring theme in the instructions. This step tells you to take several pieces that have been connected & flip them all over to do more assembly…
… but those pieces are barely held together by IKEA-style rods that run through the boards and are secured with rotating cylinders.
This itself is not a bad thing, until you realize that each board weighs 10-15 pounds. If one slides loose, those anchors will rip right out. You need to be VERY careful to make sure this doesn’t happen.
The light bars are cheap stick-um bars that go in the corners, above the mirror. This is all fine, but there’s a lot more DIY to the build than I was expecting. For the $460 price tag, I would kind of hope you would get higher quality electronics and a bit more pre-assembly.
You’ll also need to do your own wiring to connect the second set of light bars. It doesn’t tell you HOW to do that, but you can sort out that the colored wire goes into the colored slot. Again, it takes more thinking than I would expect at this price point.
After working through the assembly of the panels and the lighting, you’ll do the finishing bits. This little block of instructions is all you’re going to get for this one:
The feet get nailed into the boards on the bottom. You’ll want to be gentle here so that you don’t crack the sidewalls.
Those rotating locks for the connector posts get covered with a black paper sticker.
A quartet of clear adhesive rubber bumpers are included for the glass top.
You’ll also get some adhesive pads to stick the ladder element to the interior wall of the table.
At the end of the day, the assembly of the EP DesignLab Infinity Accent Table took me about an hour, checking and rechecking myself against the sparse directions in the package. It gets done, but it seems needlessly complicated with a high risk for error given the price of the unit.
Performance
There is no doubt that the finished EP DesignLab Infinity Accent Table is super cool. It’s a beautiful accent table and provides a unique conversation piece for your home or apartment.
I love the way it looks in a low lit room. The presentation is absolutely striking! The basic shapes and color scheme are also pretty flexible. You can find a number of ways to work this into your living room, rec room, home office, bar area, etc.
It’s also a physically sturdy piece. The whole build is heavy, and that thick tempered glass top isn’t going to crack if you drop a beverage on it. I don’t have any concerns about it collapsing or falling apart.
But the finishing details are disappointing. This is a close up of one corner. See how the sides don’t line up and you can see the brick pattern from the interior? This is just one example of alignment issues I found throughout the assembly.
I also found several scratches and dings as a result of the poor packing. You can see other dents and blemishes on the panels (especially on the edges) in the assembly pics. It really needs to be protected better for shipping.
The finishing components are all inexpensive as well. The lights, the adhesive pads, the paper cylinder covers are all bargain bin stuff. One night my wife and I heard a crash, and found that the ladder had fallen off the adhesive pads that connected it to the side panel. It didn’t break the mirror, but I feel like there should be a better anchoring solution to prevent this.
It’s also a bit irritating that you need to bring your own USB compatible power source. For the price of the unit, I shouldn’t have to go hunting for an extra power brick in my house to power it up.
What I like
- Really interesting conversation piece
- Solid piece of furniture (once you get it assembled)
- Top glass is thick and sturdy
- Looks great in action, especially in low light environments
What I’d change
- Instructions are terrible
- Components are cheap, low quality parts
- Poor finishing throughout
- A lot of DIY work for the cost
- Shipping package doesn’t protect the components well — found several knicks and scratches
- No power adaptor is included with the package
Final thoughts
The EP Design Lab Infinity Table is a really interesting & unique accent to your home decor, but I’m not sure that I can give it a strong recommendation at this price point. I just think you should expect better attention to detail for an item that costs almost $500. It’s cool as hell, but be aware of these caveats if you’re thinking about buying one.
Price: $459.00
Where to buy: epdesignlab.com and Amazon (only $199.99)
Source: The sample of this product was provided by EP Design Lab.
