Silas Bøcher, French walnut tambour cabinet (FURNITURE 2025)

Photos:

Henrik Wichmann

Country

Denmark

This cabinet is an exploration of balance between restraint and expression, tradition and innovation. I was drawn to the cabinet-on-stand form championed by James Krenov, whose sensitivity to material and ideas about craftmanship influenced me early on as a furniture maker. I also wanted to take a deliberate stance away from the trends in the furniture making that surrounds me – Scandinavian minimalism, which is so devoid of detail that subtlety risks becoming uniformity. With this cabinet I seek another path: an expression of refinement and depth where restraint is paired with richness, and the material takes center stage. The stand grounds the piece with symmetry and calm, while the asymmetry within the case introduces tension: a narrow vertical tambour door on the left, a small drawer beneath it, and a larger hinged door to the right. These elements are balanced carefully in relation to one another; their proportions refined to achieve a harmonic expression. The dialogue continues between case and stand: the chamfers on the legs flow seamlessly into the case above, yet a subtle gap separates them, allowing each to remain distinct. Material choice was central from the beginning of the design process. I wanted something unique and decided on French walnut for its warm, luminous quality and curly grain. It wasn’t easy to source – in fact I had a giant slab shipped to Denmark from France. I sought to balance the controlled expression, achieved by using both straight grain solid wood and veneer, by introducing contrast in the book matched veneer on the hinged door. While the overall expression is restrained, the details reward close attention. The tambour door is a joy to use, the dovetailed drawer closes with a piston fit, and the hand-carved ebony pulls really makes for a finger-tip adventure. Inset doors pulled-in stretchers invite light to create shifting depths of shadow, giving the cabinet a quiet presence that reveals itself slowly. The main joinery of the stand reflects my desire to innovate while honoring tradition – specifically for this piece I came up with a type of two-way mitered mortise and tenon joint, where the aprons are two-part constructions made up of a mitered show face applied to square tenon stock. This cabinet is both a personal milestone and a statement of intent. It is an homage to craftsmanship and material, to the discipline of proportion and the quiet luxury of refinement.

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