Three legs provide counter-intuitive stability to this hybrid piece of outdoor furniture, the latest in a line of tripod furnishings from Stijn Guilielmus Ruys, a Belgian furniture designer (images by Bert Sacré).

From virtually any angle it looks like the pair is about to fall over, thanks to the illusion of separation between the one-legged bench and two-legged table that meet at a single point.

Together, the parts of Guilielmus 010 form a functional outdoor surface-and-seat set that cleverly defy gravity. Other similarly three-legged designs in the series are impressive but none provide the same sense of vertigo that this one manages to induce.