SYD – Fine Furniture/Design

Tag: leather

  • Bi-Fold Credenza

    Bi-Fold Credenza

    malinacred5

    This credenza came about from one of my past clients wanting a cabinet for storing and serving snacks when he has clients over. He wanted something simple that works with the rest of the furniture and decor in the room, but a design that can stand by itself also.

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    I wanted to focus on how the cabinet is used and engaged- first and foremost. I love an element of suprise when you open a door or drawer so I wanted a dark exterior and a light interior. The lightness also helps to show the contents of the cabinet in a better light. I started thinking about how the light interior is revealed to the user and wanted something theatrical. We went for a bi-fold door that reveals the contents a little at a time- like the curtains before a play is about to start. Each board of the walnut has a bevel on the edge so it creates a texture in regular intervals and makes the door read like many different boards rather than just two doors.

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    Most of the furniture in that room is walnut, so we chose solid walnut for the doors, but we didn’t want the walnut element to be too over powering so we decided on a painted exterior. We went for a forest green milk paint. we chose milk paint because it’s durable and wont chip off, but mostly because I’m interested in the idea of imperfections. It’s nearly impossible to get a perfectly consistent and flat paint job with milk paint as you get with spray paint or with using regular paint. But unlike regular paint where inconsistency is distracting, the slight difference in tones that milk paint brings enhances it and gives the piece a handcrafted element.

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    For the handles, I used a leather key chain made by an artist in London using nubuck leather and attached it to a brass tab that I custom made. The result is a soft tactile handle that is free moving so you can control the direction of the pull.

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  • Stefanie Desk

    Stefanie Desk

    stephdeskThis client approached me wanting to create a desk for her fiance as a surprise christmas present. She liked the Harmonson desk I created earlier, and she also showed me several photos of a contemporary and minimalist design she liked. I took the common link between the two and came up with this design.

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    This design is based off of the popular parson’s table. The minimal and clean look, I believe, is a timeless look. Where the legs meet the top, I decided to use a triple miter joinery. Most parson’s table made nowadays is mitered at the top, but the legs just butt up to the top, creating a weak joint. The triple miter, which was used extensively in chinese furniture, is a locking joinery. There are small tenons that lock into the mating surface, creating a joinery that is strong enough to stand even without glue- though glue is still used to make the joint even stronger.

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    The drawers are made from quartersawn white oak (which is stable and wear resistant) with hand cut dovetail joinery that ride on maple drawer guides (also wear resistant). I’m a big fan of drawers that slide against wood if it’s made and fitted well. It’s a subtle thing, but wood on wood drawers feel and sound better when used.

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    Other than the top and the drawers, the desk is made from Sipo Mahogany and Sapele panels . I used leather for the top because the client wanted the top to be made of another material and leather seemed very appropriate for this design. The leather helps to emphasize the frame work in the desk as well as making a nice writing surface. The dark tone of the leather will tie together nicely with the dark rubbed bronze of the handles manufactured by Linnea. (these photos don’t show the handles because I did not have the handles at the time of the photos. I will update with more photos when I take more photos.)