Design Crush #8

January 19, 2016

Bethan Gray G&T brogue table

Now, I have design crushes and design crushes, this one, the brogue table, definitely falls under the category of capital letters DESIGN CRUSH. I could not shout my love for this table more strongly. It is perfect. It comes in many colours and is a wonderful design, but this design in this one colour,  I may just sell my own nanny for it (and would probably have to given the price). It is by multi-award-winning British designer Bethan Gray who has designed products and lines for Habitat, John Lewis and The Conran Store. It is the quality and detail of this piece that is so stunning, that cut work edging which is hand tooled on leather is exquisite. The cut work, which is perforated and stitched as on a brogue would be (hence the name!) also looks, to me, almost like a doilly, mirroring something of past, a celebrational trim in a totally modern way, it is incredibly beautiful whilst being, dare I say, almost a little kitsch.

Bethan Gray Brogue tables

It is so firmly on my dream wish list that I have spent the last few months wondering how I may rob Peter to pay Paul from our new house budget to attain it. It retails for, hold your breath, £945 and you can buy it many places, including Clippings.  I don’t think, despite how hard I tried, that I could justify it within our budget. However, much as I adore high street deco, I do firmly believe that the cooks truism of buying the best cut of meat you can afford works equally as a truism in design – investing in the best finishes and small pieces you can run to makes a big difference. Alas, this table doesn’t quite our budget, and I’m not saying that the tables that follow are on the same level as the luxurious brogue table but below are some cheaper alternatives inspired by Gray on the high street at the moment that I am consoling myself with, I may in fact buy the one from Swoon editions which is lovely in its own right.

 

White Stool with copper legs edison_greywashwhite_productpage_carousel_1_desktop

1. White stool with copper legs, £58 from Hollys House. 2. Edison Bright white and mango wood side table, £59, Swoon Editions.

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4 thoughts on “Design Crush #8

  1. Molly

    Oh that is very lovely – I was drooling and reaching for my purse, till I saw the price, yikes. I totally agree though that buying the best you can afford in design pays in the end, and also that the designers and makers should be justly rewarded for the work put into them (just as Adolf Loos was campaigning for at the turn of the 19th/20th C). But you need to be able to afford it too …

    Reply
    1. Design_Soda_Ruthie Post author

      Yes absolutely, it is so lovely but also gob smackingly out of my realm. I’d love to stay in a hotel that has one though just so I can touch it! Adolf Loos – that’s a name I haven’t heard for a long time, so long that I had to google him to see why I knew him, answer was that I read Why a Man Should Be Well Dressed as an undergrad during a course on the fin de siecle. Thank you for mentioning him, I may now have to go out and seek his work and buildings. Lovely to meet you the other night ?

      Reply
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