ISOSCELES
W 47cm x D 40cm x H 58cm
Geometric peppercorn nightstands
Isosceles \ adjective \ ahy-sos-uh-leez:
Having two sides equal (esp. of triangle)
Ebonised solid French plane wood with tessellated triangular-patterned peppercorn drawer fronts.
Side-by-side matched
The wood grain pattern is carefully chosen so as to appear to flow from one cabinet top to the other. The staining process used on the French plane significantly darkens the timber but still allows the natural variations in the wood grain and tone to show through
Waterfall grain flow
Careful allocation of the solid wood boards allows the grain pattern to flow up, over and down the outer faces of the cabinet
Ebonised French plane
The staining process used on the French plane significantly darkens the timber but still allows the natural variations in the wood grain and tone to show through
Contrasting interior
The plane wood is used in its natural colouring for the drawer internals, presenting a different side to the personality of this versatile timber
Offcuts repurposed
The triangular drawer front pattern is crafted from corner offcuts of a set of fourteen octagonal place mats made for a NYC architectural practice in my bespoke ‘Piper’ peppercorn surface material
Isosceles is a pair of bedside cabinets fronted in Laurent’s bespoke Piper whole black peppercorn finish. Reminiscent of traditional luxury shagreen surfaces, the peppercorn material has in this instance been applied in tessellated triangular tiles, each of which is a corner offcut from a commissioned set of octagonal dining placemats commissioned by a famous New York architect’s firm, re-imagined, re-used, re-ordered and re-assembled into new surfaces. Too good to discard.
In a departure from previous variants of the material, the top layers here have been variably tinted to lend the pieces a vintage luxury feel and impart a sense of ageing. Dark stained and hand-rubbed French plane wood forms the simple linear cabinet carcases, with boards cut and mitred so that the wood grain flows uninterrupted up, over and down the opposite side of each piece. Plane wood is such a naturally beautiful and varied timber, due to the way the grain presents itself through different angles of milling cuts. To show off this versatility, the drawers themselves present three variations all from the same tree: quartersawn lacewood, iron-stained, and lye-whitened. Drawer construction is traditional with dovetailed joinery, solid bases and drawer slips, but for ease of use and full extension these are supported on hidden Blum soft-close runners.