Covet

FOR KATE WARNER, a huge dining room table isn’t a luxury – it’s a necessity. The New Repertory Theatre artistic director regularly hosts more than a dozen thespians and theater types to eat, drink, and talk drama in her Cambridge home. So lately she’s been interested in this 78-inch vintage natural-marble Eero Saarinen table from Machine Age ($4,323). The iconic midcentury piece, with its conversation-inducing oval shape, is more than just big: It also symbolizes Warner’s love for the modernist masters, particularly Saarinen and the Eameses. “I think they took a very intellectual approach to everyday things, which is what I love about theater as well. Their work is smart and kind of edgy, particularly for its time,” she says.