After seeing the conference table I had built for Arts + Labor, my client wanted a table with the same level of impressiveness. He told me that upon walking into the Arts + Labor conference room, he was immediately struck by the conference table. He couldn’t pin point what had made it special, just that it left him wanting one like it. “I want a table that stands out.”
Now, Far West Capital is a rapidly growing financial company that specializes in giving loans to small businesses. More on what they do at http://www.farwestcap.com/. To me, the most important traits any business that is in the business of loans need to convey is trust and stability. People need to know that they can trust these people and that they will be around for a long time. I started thinking about timeless designs and wanted to root this design on traditional design. Look at any cathedral or old houses and there are certain aspects that still remain relevant to us today. I wanted this table to be something that people generations from now will still nod their head in approval.
Traditional or period furniture is nice and can convey timelessness, but our tastes have changed since then and will continue changing. Contemporary design strips detail and decoration down to clean and simple lines, so I looked for the designs that best matched those principles. I found them in Regency and Federal furniture- they are simple forms with just enough detail to add character.
The table is made entirely of American Walnut except for the table top, which is Pau Ferro, aka Santos Rosewood or Bolivian Rosewood. For this design, most of the focus is centered to the top, so Wow factor needs to be there. I chose Pau Ferro because the color matches the walnut and the grain is just gorgeous. With the finish on there, the table just pops out at you. One principal I live by is “If you have beautiful looking wood, don’t do anything to it. Just let it do it’s thing.”
One other key design element is the cross rails towards the bottom of the legs. Without those, the element of repetition is lost (8 legs). I felt the legs needed to be tied in together somehow visually, but not necessarily structurally. Hence, the thin cross rails. To prevent people from kicking it and snapping the delicate rails off, I reinforced it with steel, which doubles to highlight the X shape.
