Buffet 1,618 — Ash, natural stain and reeded glass

2023 — Unique piece — 1000 x 380 x 620 mm

Some pieces are born without a client and without urgency. This one from a desire to freely explore techniques, stains and materials, and to see if everything could hold together.

The golden ratio as a starting point

1,618 is the golden ratio, the mathematical proportion found in nature, architecture and design for centuries. It defined the three dimensions of this buffet: 1000 mm in length, 620 mm in height, 380 mm in depth. The values were slightly adjusted from the theoretical ratio to account for workshop constraints, but the spirit is there. A constraint set at the outset so that proportions would not be a question.

Ash and the stain

The carcass is in ash-veneered particle board, the legs in solid ash. Ash is a light-toned species, almost white, that naturally amplifies the intensity of a colour. That is why it was chosen to explore the natural pigments of Linolie, a Danish house specialising in linseed oil finishes. The goal was a natural product, heavily pigmented, capable of saturating the blue without altering it. The oil penetrates the wood without covering it, the grain remains visible, the veins run through the colour.

The stain was applied piece by piece, before final assembly. This choice is as much technical as aesthetic: particle board and solid wood do not react in the same way to variations in humidity and temperature. By staining before assembly, differential shrinkage between the two materials is anticipated, and the appearance of raw wood lines at the joints is avoided.

The turned legs

The legs were turned on a wood lathe at the Bidart workshop. The rounded base is a purely aesthetic decision, it softens the square rigidity of the carcass without contradicting it.

The manufacturing technique is worth explaining. Three pieces of solid ash are glued together, with a sheet of paper sandwiched between two of them. The whole is turned as a single block to ensure continuity of form. Once the turning is complete, the piece is separated at the paper joint, a controlled breaking point, creating a precise half-lap on which the carcass rests. No hardware, no visible screws.

The sliding doors

The reeded glass doors were made by Gamoy, a glazier based in Anglet. They slide in grooves cut directly into solid ash, in the spirit of Japanese ryokan doors. The principle is simple: a rebate in the upper groove allows the door to be inserted upward, then dropped into the lower groove. No rail, no runner, no hardware. Since this piece was made, the doors slide perfectly.

What this piece taught me

This buffet presented no particular difficulty. Designed around techniques I have mastered, it offered me the freedom to explore a new finish and to verify that the whole was coherent.

The next step would be to take these same proportions to a larger scale, for a living room sideboard. The ratio would remain the same. The materials too, the stain would likely change depending on the client and their interior.

Designed and made in Bidart, Basque Country, by Quentin Delion, cabinetmaker and designer. To learn more about the species and materials used in the workshop, I invite you to read How to choose the right wood species for bespoke furniture. And to understand how a bespoke project unfolds, this article will guide you.

Do you have a bespoke furniture project in the Basque Country? Let's talk.