THE TREND toward a more individual look in home interiors continues, many people are looking to the works of designers or craftsmen. A custom furniture designer, for instance, can create a single stunning piece – a unique coffee table, credenza or screen – to personalize a room.
Custom furniture can sometimes be ordered direct, although it is often necessary to go through an interior designer. Semi-custom pieces can also be ordered direct through some furniture stores.
David Hannivan of David Hannivan & Co. developed his techniques for furniture finishes when he worked at the Royal Ontario Museum, where his job was to reproduce ancient Chinese and Egyptian sculptures and figurines. Simulating the look of these pieces gave him a what he calls “a background in forgery” to add to his degree in fine arts.
The influences and techniques used by Mr. Hannivan are traditional but the look of his pieces is contemporary, both in design and finish. “It’s only the packaging that makes it look contemporary,” he says. Almost all his work is commissioned through designers, and many come to him for that special feature piece. It’s usually a single piece because, he says, “like French pastries, one is fine, but several are just too much” in one room.
Mr. Hannivan works primarily in wood, and for the most part uses painted finishes rather than stains. Paint takes more work to achieve the right effect – something like 30 applications are needed. Everything is hand-finished and no sprays are used. Mr. Hannivan specializes in textural effects, particularly using burlap, and faux finishes. He often incorporates hand-carving into his designs, such as palm trees, leaves or lilies.
One example is a coffee table in a faux goatskin or parchment finish with a large leaf design, and sinuous curves reminiscent of Art Nouveau. Mr. Hannivan will also reproduce pieces with antique finishes, such as Chinoiserie. A table with a walnut burl top, edged with gilt and lacquer, is one such piece in the works at the moment.
Roger Edwards of Concept B has been designing custom furniture for years, much of it with faux and laminated finishes, particularly leather, which he prefers to the more common lacquer looks. Many of his pieces are in hand-carved acrylic with the appearance of cut crystal, something like the well-known Lalique decorative glass which first became popular at the turn of the century; again, fitting right into the Art Deco/Art Noveau mood.
A coffee table, or perhaps a large dining table, might have an acrylic base with a clear or etched glass top. One spectacular piece designed by Mr. Edwards is a fan-shaped fire screen with feather design etched into the acrylic. Also becoming popular, he says, is a stone art finish for tables or accessory items, such as big urns or vases.
Mr. Edwards is a painter too, and he has transferred some of his techniques to furniture designs. He uses a special resin-and-paint process – he describes it as a blown color-glass effect – that allows light to diffuse between each coat.
Nino Hason heads a company called Prismatique, which started out as a store manufacturing its own designs, but after a few years he switched to supplying the design trade only. However, a selection of Prismatique designs are available through stores including Plus 5, the Musterring Galleries, Simpsons Avon Galleries and M. & M. Interiors in Markham. Although these are not strictly custom designs (Mr. Hason describes them as semi-custom) the variety of finishes, sizes and options certainly makes then quite individual. There are several cabinets, for instance, each available in 12 different lacquer colors or 10 veneers and a variety of sizes. The interior can also be fitted with shelves for china and glass in a dining room, or with drawers and file partitions for a home office.
The company’s line ranges through pieces in metal, acrylic and wood. Mr. Hason is particularly proud of the quality of the lacquer pieces, although he believes there’s a slight swing to popularity in wood stains, usually on ash, and custom-finished in any color. The company also does painted metal finishes.
