Plank

I wanted to incorporate an angular leg design into a low table and this cantilevered design reminded me of old diving boards or the pirate ship planks along which captives were walked to the waiting sharks.

This is made from New Zealand Totara and Macrocarpa reclaimed from a 120 year old shearing shed out near Castlepoint on the wild lower east coast of the North Island.

Dimensions: L1500 | W280 | H470

Perch

The brief was a higher dining table for a kitchen on which they could perch with stools, reading the paper or enjoy dinner with friends. My client loved the subtle curves and bevels popular in 70’s design.

The design uses a laminated, additive method which reflects the exposed layers of the European birch plywood. Finished with Danish Oil and wax the aesthetic is definitely Scandinavian.

Dimensions: L1800 | W800 | H890

Chop Chop

“A butchers block please…” with some specific dimensions was the brief. This butchers block is end grain heart NZ rimu with radiata pine surround and base.

End grain in a surface self heals when used for cutting as the wood fibres tend to close rather than be separated as would occur in long grain. The finger jointing on the board surround and the rimu inlay continue the end grain elements.

This block and surround is simply finished with mineral oil and beeswax to produce a durable and food safe surface while the base is a semi gloss black.

Dimensions: L1000 | W500 | H900

KitKat

The bench with the fingers. NZ Radiata and European Birch ply are laminated for the bench top and angled radiata legs are gloss black. Finished with Danish Oil and wax.

I’ve also built this in European Oak with an additional black steel rod as a stretcher to provide better stability.

I really like this design. It’s minimal but still interesting and works equally well as an end of bed bench or a low table in front of a couch

Dimensions: L1500 | W290 | H450

Sledge

I’m a big fan of exposed plywood edges and the cutouts and linear strips in this coffee table really highlight that feature. The shelf supports are cast concrete and the radiata ply is finished with shellac.

Dimensions: L1215 | W500 | H500

Picnic

This is a simple, minimal design for an indoor or outdoor bench. It’s made from NZ Totara and Macrocarpa. The Totara was sourced from a 100 year old woolshed, originally built on the Carrington Estate in Carterton. The Carrington Estate was at one time a sawmill and was planted extensively with Totara and Rimu which was the major source for the mill.

The woolshed on the property was sold and moved to Greytown at which time the current owners undertook an extensive renovation where I was lucky enough to secure some of the Totara beams that came out.

As with much recyled timber it was full of nails and ebonisation where the iron nails react with the tannin in the timber to turn it black however this adds to the character and provenance of the piece.

This piece is finished with Danish Oil and wax.

Dimensions: L1240 | W280 | H400

Flight

Flight is a great example of bespoke furniture. It was specifically designed to fit a space within a guest bedroom. Functionally, it was to be used to store bags and luggage for guests but equally to enhance a space beneath two vertical windows where the form would enhance the room.

It’s another additive piece using NZ Radiata and Birch plywood for the frames. Concrete ‘tube’ legs either side provide a seamless connection to the concrete floor it sits on.

Finished in Danish oil and wax

Dimensions: L2315, W348, H445

Gothic

Inspired by the buttresses and vaulting of late gothic architecture, this two piece commission is made from American white Ash and Finnish Birch plywood.

The client wanted a unique console table for a hallway and a complimentary piece to occupy a large cutout in a partition wall at the back of the hall. The brief was to draw the eye to the piece without obscuring all the light that the cutout was designed to allow into the spaces behind it.

The screen sculpture is finished in Danish oil and wax, the console is finished using Polyx High Solid Satin.

Dimensions:

Console L1215, W333, H800

Screen L570, W120, H1880