Ian Factor
Sturt School for Wood

Storage Box
coachwood

‘The brief for this project required a design that incorporated finger joints, mortise and tenon joints, frame and panel construction and brass butt hinges.

‘My concept was to design a versatile storage box that was elegant and simple. I wanted the box to appear light, not heavy and not to look static. I tried to achieve this by tapering the sides and to introduce an arc on the base of the sides. The taper gives the object an upward flow and the arc allows the box to sit lightly on four small points.

‘The coachwood was obtained from a retired coach restorer in Sydney. He had the timber for many years but no longer had the need for it. It has a beautiful grain pattern and polishes to a lovely lustre.’

Bedside table
redwood, coachwood

‘The brief for this project was to design a small piece of furniture that contained a number of drawers. My aim was to design an object that was simple and elegant and also appeared light and not static. I tapered the sides, using solid timber elements without frames so as not to interfere with the simple lines of the piece. The tapered sides give the object a flow—it is not rooted to the ground but moves away from it.

‘To help achieve lightness I explored the use of negative space with an open shelf and by keeping the base open.

‘The carcase is made out of solid recycled timber from a cupboard in a Federation house in Sydney. The consensus is that the timber is Californian redwood. The drawer fronts are coachwood sourced from a retired coach restorer in Sydney.’