SYD – Fine Furniture/Design

Tag: Walnut

  • A Colorist’s Desk

    A Colorist’s Desk

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    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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  • FWC-18′ conference table

    FWC-18′ conference table

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    The good people of Far West Capital are so awesome that their business and staff just keeps getting bigger and bigger. I had made a 12′ conference table for them a few years ago, and they’ve already outgrown that one, so they commissioned me to make a 18′ conference table this time. They loved the traditional meets modern aesthetic of the last one, so we decided to design something that looks totally different from the last one, yet feels similar.

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    This was by far the biggest project I’ve had the opportunity to work on and logistics became the first and foremost in the design aspect. How can I make these parts in my shop and how can I break the pieces up so I can move it safely and easily? I decided that the top will be made from 3 parts and I wanted to make the top as light as possible since that has the biggest area. To support the top, there are thick and wide aprons that come apart and fit together with notches made in the wood. This gives stability to an otherwise flexible top. The aprons rest on pedestals that are angles and tapered in almost every direction. The taper came from trying to gain as much foot space as possible without sacrificing stability. One side of the pedestal is held in with clips so you can remove it to store and hide conference table equipment. At the feet there is a 1/4″ blackened plate steel that adds weight and distributes the footprint out so the top wont tip over.

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    The whole table is made from peruvian walnut veneered panels with solid wood edging. The removable center piece is made of spalted beech. Spalted is a figure in wood caused by fungal attack. The wood is left for fungus to attack, but then harvested before the wood rots completely and becomes unusable. It’s characteristics are black vein like lines with wood tones around it being different. I think the spalted beech was a nice compliment to the peruvian walnut and adds a little bit of country to the otherwise sophisticated elements.

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    To break up the large dark surface and to give a nod to traditional furniture we chose to inlay cross banding around the border. Cross banding is inlayed wood that is aligned so the grain is oriented side to side across the length. The outer cross banding is made from Bolivian rosewood and the inner cross banding that borders the spalted beech is Macassar Ebony. I feel the different tones in the woods give a nice transition to the different woods.

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    Sixteen people can sit all around the table easily and maybe a few more if people are willing to get close and cozy with each other. I think this design is a success because the real design elements are in the small details.

     

  • Tambour sideboard

    Tambour sideboard

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    I was approached to design a credenza/sideboard that matches a conference table I made in the past. A+L Conference Table. The main purpose for the sideboard was a storage unit that housed all their conferencing equipment when they weren’t using it as well as all the wires and misc things that should be hidden when it’s not used. The sideboard also makes a great platform to showcase all the awards they have won in the past.

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    Since there wasn’t a whole lot of space between the wall and the conference table chairs, I wanted to avoid having a door that swings out- especially if they needed the cabinet open for one reason or another. That left me with sliding doors or tambour doors as the options for the doors. Tambours are doors that slide in a track and roll so that it’s able to tuck into the sides and hide behind the back panel. You see this used on roll top desks.

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    After our design meeting, the client and I both agreed that tambours were the better choice for this situation. Not only does it look nicer, it’s a better solution functionally since you can reveal just the center shelf area, or open it all the way to showcase the whole interior of the cabinet. I also believe tambours have a certain nostalgic feeling that reminds us of beautiful furniture of the past.

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    The design inspiration came from mid-century modern furniture. I think the simplicity in form of the designers of this era got it just right. It’s hard to improve upon it, so I left the lines as clean as possible and tried to let all the details shine. Like many of SYD furniture, the eye is in the detail and the craftsmanship. Spend time on those elements and you don’t need fancy or unusual forms to stand out.

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    Most of the furniture in the room is made of pecan, so pecan was the natural choice of wood for this project. We didn’t want the room to look like a forest of pecan, so we decided to make the tambour doors out of a different, but complimentary wood. In this case, we decided on teak. The warm color of teak and the rich grain makes the door the focal point without taking all of the spotlight.

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  • The Johansen Table

    The Johansen Table

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    This client wanted a dining table that would fit into their tight dining area.They love to entertain, so the dining table had to be able to expand to seat more people.The circular dining table is constructed in two halves with sliding aprons that hold two extra leaves. My clients love the danish modern look of sleek and clean but also keeping the depth and character of the wood alive. What we came up with is a design that takes inspiration from Harry Ostergaard. The Johansen table is constructed with stack lamination for the apron with a tapered leg attached by a dovetail joinery.

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    Traditionally, when building a circular table, craftsmen would stack laminate their aprons out of inferior woods like poplar and then veneer the face of it with beautiful wood like mahogany or rosewood. To me, the different layers and the changing grains of the stack lamination is beautiful in itself, so I decided not to cover it up, but turn it into a design element. We ended up with the dovetail joinery for the legs because it was the most honest connection. Anyone looking at it can visually see that the legs aren’t coming apart.

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    The table is all constructed out of American Black Walnut except for the Maple sliding rails for the extra leaves. It is finished with a hand rubbed oil finished off with a layer of wax.
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