The cabinet featuring integrated desk was designed for my client who owns a wonderful mid-century modern house on Old Mission Peninsula in Traverse City, Michigan.
The cabinet features a painted bookcase with three adjustable shelves and a recessed pigeon hole unit for the desk. The solid cherry pigeon hole is fitted with a natural white maple partitions and illuminated with cobalt blue glass back panels. The cherry partners desk is fitted with a traditional map style drawer in African Wenge that functions as a “pencil drawer” on both sides of the top.
The 7 Drawer Desk in Walnut & Parchment was inspired by the interest in modern furniture from France in 1930’s the 1950’s. This period of design is frequently described as “40 French Furniture”. In the late 1990’s when I was V.P. of Design and Product Development at John Widdicomb Co. in Grand Rapids, Michigan, I produced a number of furniture collections based on this wonderful period of design. Designers of the 40’s period looked back on the opulent French Louis XVI Cabinet Makers and reduced the bronze ornamentation but kept the silhouette. The French designer Jean-Michael Frank is the acknowledged master of the distillation of 18c French interior design. Frank used parchment not only furniture but covered entire rooms with square panels wrapped with the skin. The 7 Drawer Desk is constructed of solid American Walnut with Parchment covering veneered panels. The walnut top is fitted with a recessed parchment panel that has a glass panel over the top for protection. The Greek key style pedestals are cantilevered over the open plinth. Polished Stainless Steel drawer pulls are graduated in size on the drawer fronts. The left pedestal features a unique drawer that functions as a small lock box and is illustrated below.
The Clear Desk is handmade in solid American Walnut and is fitted with two drawers on each end. The drawers fronts feature beautiful inset circular Stainless Steel drawer pulls. The back of the desk is finished so that can be used in the middle of the room or against the wall. The finish is a hand rubbed oil and waxed to a satin luster. The dimensions are Length 54″x Width x 24″ x Height 30″.
Inverted Walnut pedestal desk is handmade from American Walnut solids and veneers. This unique desk features reverse graduated drawers in each pedestal and a single pencil in the center. The drawers feature beautiful Stainless Steel drawer pulls.When I design a desk for a client I like to build a custom safe drawer in the center of the left or right pedestal. The concept for the drawer is based on one German Cabinetmaker David Roentgen’s desk for Catherine the Great in the late 1780’s. The amazing desk Roentgen designed is illustrated in the photo on the bottom right. You pull the drawer out half way and there is a small keyhole that unlocks the drawer and it splits in half to expose the internal rear compartment. The size of the desk is 54″x 25″ x 30″ H. Please click on images to enlarge.
