I saw the strikingly handsome Loop Cabinet from CoucouManou last September during London Design Week, and I’m ashamed to say it got buried deep down on my ‘show and tell’ list. I was reminded how much I liked it when I came across it again as I was browsing the furniture section of Clippings, the brilliant website that brings together all the best of new design – it’s like going to all the design shows without having to leave home, plus you can shop there too.
Bath-based CoucouManou is the brainchild of Nell Beale. With a passion for colour, and over 20 years experience as a furniture designer and maker, she creates furniture that is modern and fresh, and lovingly made from top quality materials. There’s definitely a ‘past meets present’ quality to the Loop Cabinet, so I was interested to learn that Nell uses modern manufacturing techniques alongside traditional cabinet making skills, with each piece being entirely finished by hand.
Beautifully crafted, the Loop Cabinet encompasses a playful yet sophisticated mix of materials and influences – the retro pattern, a traditional rich American Black Walnut wood grain, and contemporary Valchromat (a solid colour wood/resin/organic dye composite). Here Nell explains where the inspiration behind it came from:
A couple of years ago I was in my photographers studio and I spotted some wall paper he had on his wall. It was pretty hideous in itself, but I loved the pattern and knew I’d use it one day. I played around with it for quite sometime and the Loop Cabinets are the result!
There are two models to choose from, a low and a high cabinet, and four colours – blue, dark blue, gold and green. The pattern is grooved onto the doors, painted by hand and then finished with a hard wax oil. The interior is just as handsome, with one fixed and two adjustable shelves in black Valchromat and a walnut veneered back, whilst the doors are hung on solid brass butt hinges and open with a push catch system.
We’re very glad that Nell found inspiration in some bad wallpaper, as the wonderful Loop Cabinet manages to be traditional, retro and futuristic all at the same time, and would make a stunning statement piece. I can see it working equally well in the lounge, hallway, dining room, bedroom, landing … Visit www.clippings.com to see the Loop Cabinet plus lots more exciting contemporary design, or www.coucoumanou.com to see Nell’s full range of furniture and home accessories.
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