Commissioning any piece of specialist work can be a daunting task particularly as you are likely to have to commit to some expenditure before you actually see the finished piece. If you are intending to obtain the greatest benefit from your patronage, there are a number of fundamental points to consider. You cannot short-circuit the…
As soon as contemporary or modern design is mentioned there are immediate concerns that it will be inappropriate to a historic building, but why? Perhaps this is often because what is classed as ‘modern’ is merely poorly designed, but the best of modern design can hold its head up amongst the finest of historical pieces….
What is a pocket door? A pocket door can refer to two different types of doors: A door that slides in one direction into a preformed cavity. This is normally a room door where the door leaf disappears into the wall next to it and can be a single or a pair. A door that…
Like most people I am reluctant to change, not actually opposed, but throwing out tried and tested methods in favour of the new and unproven can be difficult. In the field of furniture design and especially within manufacturing, development is ongoing and whilst we welcome developments that make life easier and improve the quality of…
Medium density fibreboard is a great material but has a poor reputation with the general public and some specifiers. Like all materials, there are good ways of using them and bad ways. The best way to illustrate this is by comparing canvas with silk; they are both fabrics, you could make a tent from silk…
What inspires your designs? To me, it’s the conversation with the client, when I try to get them to express what they are after in ways that allow me to get a sense of the aesthetic and understand the functionality. I like to use books for traditional design work in order to be accurate, but…
Commissioning truly unique furniture and specifying joinery in a high-end development, not only provides a bespoke, luxury finish but is also a great investment for the end user. Our best relationships with developers and interior designers are always the ones where they involve us in the design process at the earliest stage so we can…
We use a lot of glass in our furniture from decorative panels to simple protection of a surface. It is a major subject, we have tried to cover some of the basics. What is the difference between Float glass and Annealed glass? Fundamentally they are the same thing, the float process is the method…
Our first foray into working abroad was with Gabhan O’Keeffe in New York, and was a suite of furniture for a bedroom. A four-poster bed with rock crystal blocks in the posts, a circular upholstered seat with a hidden tv, in the days when televisions where big boxes, and dado panelling with new shutters for…
