Wood Working

Furniture Lust to Kick Off 2020 – The Woolsey Smart Desk

Four years ago I was lucky enough to be chosen for the IKEA Home Tour when they were here in Kansas City. My video got me a home office makeover that turned out really nice. All of the furniture was supplied by IKEA and the Home Tour Squad spent 3 days redesigning my office. Part of the office makeover package was a sit/stand desk that I have used ever since. BEKANT.

I have to admit I have mixed feelings about the BEKANT Desk that I’ve been using since it was installed. I’ve had to replace the drive solenoid on it twice now, and the controls to raise and lower the desk can be a bit temperamental at times. The slightest variation in pressure and the desk comes to a stop. The work surface is ample, and the motor raises and lowers the desk in a fluid fashion which is nice. The problem is that the desk feels a bit on the cheap side, and when you spend 8 to 10 hours a day sitting or standing at your desk, you begin to think about better quality, or how you can hack your desk to make it feel like a higher quality piece of furniture. The other thing that pops into your head is “Should I just replace it with a better quality desk?”

The thing I find true about most sit/stand desks either look like they were designed by an engineer with no value on aesthetics or they have a very traditional look that doesn’t really fit with my personal style. What I want is a really nice piece of furniture with solid cable management, features, with a modern flair. So, I began my quest and while cruising the internet today I came across the “Woolsey Smart Desk” by Sean Woolsey.

The Sean Woolsey Smart Desk is available in two different materials – walnut or white oak allowing you to choose a material that works best with your current office or workspace. The Smart Desk is filled with all sorts of features I love. Cable slots so you can charge devices in the drawers out of sight. The motor control is hidden in the right drawer helping to keep your workspace tidy. The control unit also allows you to program 4 specific stop heights for different users. (very handy for me. I’m 6 foot 4 and my wife is 5 foot 4″) The motors that drive the desk give off very little noise (BEKANT is loud as hell) There is a built-in surge protector. It has a built-in QI Charger for wireless charging. Oh, and did I mention it’s absolutely gorgeous?

Click through to Vimeo to see the entire series of videos on the Smart Desk.

Just look at it. The shape is subtly rounded. Drawer hardware is removed so that the front of the desk becomes an uninterrupted shape. The monitor riser is unobtrusive. Cables are hidden away out of sight. It’s simply stunning.

Clearly, nothing has been left out when designing the Sean Woolsey Smart Desk with real attention to detail in the materials used and the little design touches which set it apart. Sean Woolsey wanted to include everything for the busy professional to stay organized with a luxurious yet functional design that offers everything you will need to keep yourself motivated and creative day in, day out.

I just need to figure out how to afford this. At $3000.00 it’s a hefty investment for sure. If I plan on dropping that kind of coin on a desk it’s going to need to become a family heirloom and something I plan on using for the next 20 years.

“Velo”, or Chair Porn. Not That Kind of Porn. Get your Mind out the Gutter.

It’s been awhile since I have posted any chair porn, so here you go. Velo designed by Jan Waterston is a solid example of how taking a good creative concept and executing properly can reinvent an ordinary item creating intriguing beauty.

Velo 1

The chair has been redefined by Waterson as a sinuous piece of furniture with a sculptural, yet inviting presence. It is a demonstration of master craftsmanship and creativity as it becomes a flowing form that wraps around the seated form. When not in use it is an object of art, a sculptural piece of wood that is visually dynamic, even though it is a static object.

Waterson says the beauty the chair was inspired by the flowing forms of bicycles, “This relationship between body and object is echoed in bicycle design with tubes flowing seamlessly into one another, constantly changing shape, to improve function and aesthetic”.

Velo is hand sculpted from ash and features seamless construction, which is a testament to the Waterson’s woodworking skills Each element of the chair blend into one another, making the Velo seem as though it is crafted from a single piece of wood.

velo 4

velo 3

velo 2

Wafer Thin

Designed by Claesson Koivisto Rune for japanese manufacturer Matsuso T the Wafer chair combines alternating light and dark wood stripes of walnut and maple. Presented earlier this year at imm cologne 2015 the chair and collection is simply stunning. Technically challenging to manufacture Matsuso T has seamlessly blended the sections together into a smooth constant shape where the flat planes morph perfectly with the leg assembly creating stunning geometry.

The primary theme theme of the Wafer chair and coordinating collection is based on the combination of contrasting light and dark wood which create a bold graphical statement. The name Wafer refers to both the visual effect and the wafer thin edges of each piece. The Wafer chair has the broadest selection of stripes of all three of the pieces. It’s wafer thin edges taper inward to the main section which is substantially thicker, yet that thickness is hidden by the overall shape of the chair creating yet another optical illusion.

Wafer truly shows off Matsuso T’s manufacturing prowess. The chair is produced by a combination of 3-d cutting and hand finishing. Each piece is solid wood, in order to achieve the quality that Matsuso T requires and produce the optical effect the stripes create. Frankly I don’t think you could create something with these kinds of lines and geometry using MDF and veneer, at least not with this striking of an effect.

Carlos Alberto’s Wooden Vespa “Daniela”.

A couple of months back I posted about a steam punk Vespa that was a visual treat. Today, I’m posting about the wooden Vespa created by Portuguese carpenter Carlos Alberto. His hand crafted creation is named “Vespa Daniela”, and it is completely hand-crafted from a variety of woods all the way down to the wooden roulette wheels.

Carlos took what looks like a late 1950’s Primavera that was abandoned in his garage and used it as the frame work to build this masterpiece of craftsmanship. Designed for his daughter Daniela, the entire metal structure was replaced with wooden forms leaving only the original 50cc engine and suspension.

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