SYD – Fine Furniture/Design

Category: Desk

Bespoke Desk

Fuller Desk – Rosewood

This client was referred to me from another client of mine that I had made a game table for. They are long time friends who enjoys playing board games with each other so I was happy to hear that my preferred method of marketing ‘word of mouth’ is still working.

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This client wanted a nice desk for his home office that he could either use as a computer desk or to have a meeting at. He wanted something elegant that looks beautiful in the center of a room. His office is on the small side, so we needed to get the size just right. Too big and it would feel claustrophobic in the room. Too small, and it would look like a child’s desk and wouldn’t be too functional. To make sure we get this right, I made a plywood template to place in the room to make sure it was just right before we finalized the designs.

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Because the desk is in the center of the room, I wanted my client to be able to freely walk around the desk and not risk kicking the legs of the desk as he walked by. For that reason, I brought the legs in from the corner and tied everything together with low rails. The rails taper up so its wider towards the center. The legs are just straight round since any turned detail would take away from the design instead of adding value.

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For the wood, we chose rosewood. Rosewood is a gorgeous wood that has a lot of depth and ages beautifully. The desk top is veneered (because its not a good idea to make a design like this in solid wood due to expansion and contraction) with the grain following from the top down to the sides. The front of the desk flows straight through the drawer front to create one cohesive look. The drawer knob is just a simple design made of bronze.

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There is a removable platform to elevate the computer monitor as well as a way to hide wiring. There is one leg that is hollow so a power cord could be snaked up to fuel a small electrical outlet so it’s easy to plug things in and out.

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June 21, 2017
Blaine desk & credenza

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This client was re-doing his entire office and wanted something simple but nice for his office. We worked out a design for a matching set of furniture that was simple in form, but rich in details.

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There’s two parts to each of the designs. The first part is the outside dark layer. The dark layer is mahogany that has been stained to be a dark rich tone. The top flows down into the top, creating a continuous line. The legs end on the floor with a cap to create a visual punctuation mark.

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The second part is the inner part and that is made from veneered panels of rippled sycamore. The photos don’t give this wood justice, but the wood grain shimmers as you walk around the piece as it catches different light source. To break up the spaces for the drawers, I inlayed a line of wenge.

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The hardware was picked out by my client and has a nice blend of traditional and modern element. It’s a nice visual stamp that breaks up the big vast white space and gives your eye something to follow.

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December 5, 2016
Father and Sons’ Desks

My client approached me wanting to create a set of desks for himself and his two sons. They would be using the same office room so they could work together in the same space. My client wanted the piece of furniture to be heirloom quality so the boys can take the desks with them when they graduate college.

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The father wanted a timeless design with some traditional elements, and the boys (of course) were looking for something more modern in design. I took both elements and went for a nice federal style piece. There’s enough detail and handcraft aspects to make this a timeless heirloom piece, but refined enough to keep it from being mistaken as just an old antique period piece.

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We chose macassar ebony as the focal wood with mahogany as the skeleton of the piece. Macassar ebony comes in many forms and can differ greatly depending on the log/ tree it came from. I picked all my veneers to have a tight grain and arranged it so it’s not too busy, but not too plain to keep it from looking too much like commercial plywood or formica.

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The drawers are handcut dovetail drawers with wooden center guide rails to keep the drawers tracking. The quietness of wooden drawers on wooden guides is a subtle cue into the attention and detail put into all aspects of the construction.

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Im not sure how much the actual desks played a role in it, but it was reported to me that the kids have been getting significantly better grades since the desks have been delivery 🙂

December 5, 2016
Logan Desk

My client came to me to create a new desk for his home office. He is a producer at a video production company so he’s constantly on the move and having to work in different locations. He wanted something clutter free at his home office but easy for him to hook up his laptop and keep all the cables and plugs hidden. We went for a stripped down look, focusing on letting the functionality express the form.

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The first question was what to do with the power cord and all the other cables. Instead of reaching down under the desk to find an outlet every time, we brought the electrical power source up to the desk so it’s always in easy access. The electrical plugin needs to be hidden but also easy to access- so the flip top cubby holes towards the back of the desk made the most sense. There is a notch that acts as a handle as well as a place for the cord to come out.

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There’s also three drawers that slide out in the front for all the paperwork and sized so that a laptop could be stored inside. The middle drawer has a pencil tray for quick access to jot down notes. As for the rest of the form, we wanted the cubby holes to be deep enough to store all sorts of things so we made the back section deep. The drawers in the front couldn’t hang too low to allow enough space for the legs, so we tapered the side from deep cubby up to narrow drawers. For the legs, we opted for the most stripped down form we could do use without compromising strength. The legs are steel rectangles bolt on from the inside of the desk.

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The desk is finished with hand rubbed oil so it ages nicely and any scuffs or dings will only give it more character instead of calling attention to itself. The steel legs are left raw and waxed to keep that beautiful raw steel look.

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May 23, 2015
A Colorist’s Desk

A colorist for film approached me to create a desk for him. A colorist is the person who adjust the color in a film frame by frame to make sure that everything is consistent and there are no sudden changes. Because of the way that light affects how your eye sees colors, he works in a pitch black room with a single light source that has the correct light frequencies. He also has clients come to his studio so he can show them what he’s working on so the desk also had to look presentable to clients from every direction. Another design requirement was that the desk had to support all of his big monitors and his editing gear.

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We came up with using walnut because it’s a dark tone wood and the tone blends into the darkness when all the lights are off. The top also had to be large enough to hold all his editing equipment without it taking up the entire room. Since there are clients in there frequently while he’s editing, we included a modesty panel to keep the area looking clean. The attention needs to be on the big screen, not the mess under the desk. To make the desk not feel like a huge heavy mass, I included cutouts in the modesty panel where it meets the frame.

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The desk form is simple, and we wanted it to look nice, but not be the source of attention. To add a touch of sophistication and craftsmanship, the details are what shine through from the inlaid metal drawer pull to the stainless steel steel holding the desk top to the frame. The cutouts for wire management also adds appeal to the whole desk where everything is thought out ahead of time, rather just some hole with an off the shelf grommet.

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Editing a film takes a lot of computer power and storage power, so we needed a place to store all his other equipment as well. We went with an open from cabinet for maximum air circulation that showcased his equipment rather than hiding it. The side cabinet mimics the desk design so it looks like a set.

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February 1, 2015
Yuta Desk

This desk was created as a gift for my brother Yuta. He helped me get my business started and has helped me in countless other ways so as a token of my appreciation I decided to make him a computer desk. His line of business is film and video production and everything is done on computer, I decided he won’t have too much need for drawers or cabinets. The one thing I noticed was that since every film project takes up a lot of computer memory, he needs an external hard drive for every project. His old desk had external hard drives scattered on his desktop and even piled on the floor. To account for this, I decided to create a little shelf area right under the top and in between the drawers so he can quickly tuck and hide things that has no need to be on the work surface. This makes it possible for the top to be clutter free.

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The inspiration for this design came from my fascination of windsor chairs- mainly the part where the legs attach into the bottom of the seat with just a hole and a round tenon. I wanted to try to incorporate this look but make it strong enough to resist racking and twisting. The legs are tapered and splay out to create the look of the windsor chair legs. The legs are not turned like the windsor chairs because I didn’t feel it would look right. Also, the aprons are designed to prevent racking so it is much larger than you see in the windsor chairs.

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Because the legs splay out, I decided to introduce complimentary angles to the top, the drawers, and even to the inside partitions that separate the shelf area from the drawers. When the drawers are closed, that angle flows all the way through to the back. The angles add a lot more work to the piece, but I think it helps elevate it from just a regular boxy furniture.

Since this is a computer desk with monitors and other necessary electronic equipment, I designed the back so wires and cords will be easy to feed through and hide.

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I wanted to accentuate the different parts of the table (top and the base) so I used contrasting woods- Ash and Beech. I also decided to bleach the ash to create a paper white look. Bleaching creates a greater contrast from the Beech and also looks more elegant than unbleached ash (unbleached ash takes on a yellow tint with finish).

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In the end, we were able to set up a surprise birthday party where he thought he was helping me deliver a desk to his boss’s house, but instead it turned out the desk he was helping deliver was his desk.

June 30, 2013