To quote Saul Bass, “Design is thinking made visual.” This famous quote couldn’t have rung truer with one of our most recent and most challenging projects, which required us to really think hard about how to make the client’s dream design a reality.
Assigned by German business tycoons, this design and manufacturing job had to be of noble proportions. And while we’ve worked as custom furniture designers for many years and have worked with clients from all walks of life, who have all had their own weird and wonderful requirements, this job was on a whole new level of novelty.
The Design Challenge
The client had an existing table that they imported with them from Germany. Though it was far too small for the space, they loved its cantilevered design, and commissioned us to come up with something amazing using the same idea.
We had already custom made all their bedroom furniture in the curves of the Imbiza range, and so we thought we’d continue that through into the dining room.
With their beautifully open dining room space that overlooks one of KZN’s most breath-taking views, we wanted something suitably spectacular that still had a certain transparency to it that would allow the setting to take centre stage.
Overcoming Obstacles
For us, the cantilever concept, spoken in the language of Imbiza translated into one giant Imbiza boomerang. The concept sketches were well received, and so we set about the difficult task of designing a leg structure that would allow such a huge slab of wood to seemingly float in space.
It was a design we knew would push the boundaries of what we were capable of. And while stress levels were high, so was our sense of excitement. Despite a number of failures with the design, on route to the final item, we managed to pull it off!
What this job taught us was the importance of embracing challenges in order for us to grow as custom furniture designers. Our failures ultimately taught us many things – things that will guide us in the future when we try push more boundaries!
Do you have a challenge for our custom furniture designers? Speak to us about how we can make your dream materialise.
