Monday, February 18, 2013

...CUSTOM LIVE EDGE DESKS...


I'm presently working on an office redo. The office is a relatively new addition on the back of a 1840's red brick farmhouse in rural Eastern Ontario. My clients, who rent the property love the heritage charm of the house and the spacious addition that houses their office. When discussing the function and look of the office space, it was clear that my clients desired the aesthetic of the 150+ year old farm house, with the function and comfort of a contemporary office.
These folks spend ALL day at their desks. They knew they wanted Herman Miller office chairs, but the look and function of the desks, the area where they spend their day also had to be special.
My first thought was to have two live edge desks made by a local artisan. My clients loved this idea.

two sister slabs of live edge walnut from the same tree ... photo courtesy of naCoille

I had read a blog post about a local artisan naCoille Studio who uses reclaimed and salvaged wood from the Ottawa Valley to create beautiful pieces of furniture that I would also consider pieces art.

My clients were thinking outside the box when it came to the bases they wanted for the desks.
The six foot long slabs of walnut that I chose needed super support...

photo courtesy of naCoille
...and naCoille came thru, with suggestions from my client, with this base design. I love this industrial addition to the desks as a foil to the more historic elements in the space.


The legs were powder coated in a matt black to complement the other black elements in the room.



Detail of the two slabs. The 'checking" or split down the middle adds unique character to the two desk tops. These are strengthened with a notch know as a 'bowtie' or 'dutchman'. Absolutely love this detail!




Upon delivery, the bases were attached to each top...


...and have found their new home facing the picture windows looking out onto a fabulous views of farmland and open fields.






The rest of the office is a work in progress. Weathered leather chairs are being delivered this week, window treatments that allow the beautiful view to be visible, but minimize harmful UV rays will be ordered, the Herman Miller desk chairs will be test 'driven' and ordered and another blog post with more details of the transformation of this space will be on this blog when the space is complete.

Maureen at Modecor Muses: February 2013

Maureen at Modecor Muses