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The Project:
Busta Studio, a design firm out of Litchfield, CT who we have worked with in the past to create custom furniture, reached out to us in early 2021 about designing a custom concrete coffee table for a private residence in Westhampton, NY.
Specifically, they wanted to create a “double-decker” floating cast-concrete table that used oversized wood blocks to make it seem as though the two concrete tops were suspended in the air. The wood blocks were to be made of natural and aged wood and angled outward, despite the two concrete panels being perfectly parallel to the floor.
The Challenges:
While this piece is quite sleek and rather minimal in design, it was actually one of the greater engineering challenges we’ve faced when creating a custom piece of furniture. First off, fabricating the wood was a challenge in and of itself. After a few rounds of ideas and discussions, we ended up using reclaimed Spruce blocks and laminating two large pieces that were repurposed from giant beams of an old building.
A second challenge was making steel-tube frames that would tie the two blocks together, essentially giving the concrete something to sit on. These metal frames had to be recessed into the wood while the concrete tops were hollowed out underneath to hide the support structure.
With the angles and the size of the piece, the engineering proved to be deceptively difficult to work out.
The Results:
While we had made tables with an internal steel structure before, we’d never managed to do a “double-decker” design. When install day finally came, we were happy to see how perfectly the piece fit in with the rest of the beautiful property in Westhampton.
We welcome any and all furniture challenges such as this for both residential and commercial interiors. To see another project like this, check out our story, Mirror, Mirror...Casting 2 Massive, Matching, Monolithic Concrete Coffee Tables in Brooklyn.
