I am drawn to this vintage wooden desk again and again and, in the absence of finding anywhere to put it in my own house, have decided to share it with you. I know – generous aren’t I! Don’t worry I don’t always keep things to myself, I just wanted to be sure that I felt this was a good piece of furniture and while it’s expensive I also love it, so it has passed the test.
As you know ,I believe, almost above anything else, that every room should have some antique or vintage furniture in it. It doesn’t have to be much. It certainly doesn’t have to be everything but a bit of old wood works a treat in any room. Whether it’s a vintage pizza board in a kitchen or an old table in the sitting room, it brings character and warmth to a space. I have even managed to incorporate some into the new bathroom by making some shelves for the basin from old laboratory worktops.
That’s why I love this vintage wooden desk. It can be a desk of course. It’s 55cm wide and 145 long so, if you have a bigger room, it could also be a console table behind the sofa. You might be able to fit it in your hall. What about using it as a dressing table in the bedroom? The only thing I think it might struggle is as a small dining table. I wanted it to work for that as I have a client with a living/dining space who needs a rectangle table but I think this is just a little tight for that. Although you could probably just seat four for supper if you put the serving dishes on a trolley or left them in the kitchen and carried the plates to the table. Which is quite often what we do and I expect you do too. Alternatively, you could lay all the serving dishes on it buffet style and go and perch on the sofa to eat – perfect for parties.
So, now that we’ve justified a place for it in every room in the house, this is suddenly a bargain of a table. You can move it round the rooms as the fancy takes you. That must work on one of those cost per wear analyses that we’re always doing when we’re trying to justify that expensive pair of shoes.
No it isn’t just me I refuse to believe it. If you like it it’s £850 from Design Vintage.
it seems like this desk was made with great love and care. It definitely speaks to me and hides its own story.
As a cabinet maker and a business owner I find myself split down the middle on this type of furniture. Peter – who taught me how to make secret dovetail joints and a Chippendale ribbon back chair – would be spinning in his grave that somebody can knock this together and call it fine furniture. As a business owner I look at it and see that I don’t need to worry about the quality of the material – that knot or split just adds charm and interest – so I am saving a huge amount by using what others would call waste. I don’t need to make precise joints, I don’t need to go through half a dozen grades of sand paper, I don’t need to take it to a spray shop to have a quality finish applied. If I drop a leg, who is going to see that extra dent?
On the other hand I can see the attractiveness of old used timber in furniture – old workbenches look great as does an old butchers block or a 16th century table. But there are not enough to feed demand and finding a genuine old piece that fits the space you have and serves the desired function is virtually impossible. So there is a place for furniture made from reclaimed timbers, especially timber like elm.
So as I said, I’m split. Just don’t get me started on hippest cafes furnished with old scaffolding boards……
Nice blog for vintage design. Like and Share.
Duncan – we know how you feel. We go through that battle with ourselves on a daily basis as we produce both – quality, labour intensive furniture and also the scaffold plank variety! It’s certainly always a talking point in our office 🙂
love the desk, although very drawn to whats on it too!