Desk Armoire

The piece was conceived as a (home)work station for the client’s children, to be placed on the second floor hall-balcony, making it visible from the grand foyer below. The location, as well as the dimensional requirements, put me to task to create a harmony of function and form. The focal point is the two large “pocket” doors that conceal the television/VCR and computer. Rather than plain wood panels, a mahogany veneer triad is repeated, giving the panels a 3-dimensional, trompe-loi effect. The pattern changes depending on how light is reflected off it’s surface. The desktop is a large expanse of mahogany… a full 1-1/4 in. thick…that marries the lower and upper sections. Besides being a very tactile work surface, it provides a break in the overall height of the 8ft. tall piece. On each side of the cabinet are double-radiused walls fronted by 5 ft. tall, turned posts. Shorter turnings adorn the two lower, drawer cabinets. No corners or hard edges anywhere. The left-hand cabinet holds a pencil drawer and a printer/paper tray. The last feature I want to point out is the base moulding and how it blends with the posts. The cove piece that fits in that corner between the base and the cabinet wall is extra-large. I had fabricated a unique steel cutter to shape this part.