Daisy
 

Conceived as both sculpture and furniture, Daisy explores the quiet poetry of a flower opening and closing. The brief was to design a visually engaging coffee table that could separate into individual elements, each able to stand alone as a side table. The resulting form takes its inspiration from the radiating petals of a daisy.

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Eight individual petal tables gather to create a single flower. Together they form a complete circular table, apart each becomes a useful companion piece within the home. The object shifts between unity and independence, structure and fragility.

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Balance and lightness guided the making process. Each petal stands on two slender legs, or ‘roots’ anchoring the form to the ground. From their tapered ends the carved legs rise in a seductive flowing compound curve, briefly meeting before parting again as they join the underside of the tabletop. The line continues upward into a gentle convex curved taper. This continuous movement draws the eye along the surface, inviting the hand to follow its path - a quiet moment of tactile connection between object and user.

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When the eight tables are assembled, the flower appears whole. Balanced, symmetrical, and grounded. Yet remove a single petal and the delicacy of each element becomes clear. Each table stands lightly, almost precariously, echoing the fragile balance of a flower and its petals in nature.

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The name daisy comes from the Old English ‘day’s eye’, referring to the flower’s habit of opening to the morning sun and closing again as evening falls. This daily rhythm mirrors the life of the table, petals drawn outward when needed, then gathered together again into a single form. An everyday ritual of opening and closing.

Daisies are often associated with summer, lightness, and cheerfulness. To reflect this, the tables were made from sustainably sourced solid Ash, chosen for its pale tones and lively grain. Ash wood contains phenolic compounds that react with oxygen and daylight, causing a shift toward a warmer, sometimes blotchy yellowish hue over time. To preserve the freshness of the timber, a white pigment was worked into the grain before the surfaces were sealed with a matte lacquer. 

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Along the inner curved faces, a carved texture suggests the stem of the flower. These surfaces are finished in a French, chalky and earthy green paint. Creating a subtle visual link to the living plant. When all eight petals come together, the painted, dimpled faces form a perfect circular centre. Light enters this carved void and softly reflects across its surfaces, gathering in the heart of the flower.

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Produced in two sizes, each completed Daisy finds its place within the client’s home — a functional object that quietly unfolds and gathers again, much like the flower from which it takes its name.