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Aiea, Hawaii. The original of this elegant and extravagant 4-poster bed is in Hulilee Palace Museum in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. It was commissioned in 1903 from the Honolulu Steam Planing Mill for the Hawaiian Prince and Princess Kawananakoa, and was carved by a German craftsman Frank N. Otremba. The original bed was built of solid curly koa, an Hawaiian acacia variety, with Hawaiian kauila wood posts that previously served as cornerposts at the home of high chiefess Ruth Keelikolani. Almost every surface of the bed is covered by carving - trailing maile ginger leaves, vines, berries, bananas, pineapples, ilima and maile leis, taro leaves, seashells, crustacean forms, and the Hawaiian Royal Crest and coat of arms.
I was asked to replicate this bed, and with great effort and study I drew upon historic and contemporary photographs in various collections, as well as viewing the original in the museum. Kauila wood is now extinct and koa wood is a protected species. I needed to replace the kauila with American black walnut, but managed to obtain sufficient curly koa to build the remainder. Ultimately, I was to build two replicas of Kawananakoa’s koa bed, one king- and the other queen-size.
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This king size bed was created in response to a client's wish for a design with this theme. The hand-carved headboard and footboard represent opposing swans, while the graceful curving necks and heads of the birds serve as the four bedposts. The bed also includes marquetry panels of pond scenes, made of various exotic woods and mother-of-pearl inlays.
This piece derives from our continuing interest in the naturalistic designs of the Art Nouveau period. All of our bed designs can be made in any size, or combinations of woods to accommodate individual needs and taste.
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This bed was inspired by the client's desire to intrigue their visiting grandchildren, while achieving a highly aesthetic design. We presented several designs that incorporated various animals, birds, insects, and flowers, and the final design assimilated elements from each. The butterfly, frog, ladyslipper and jack in the pulpit flowers were made as parquetry carvings, then applied to the head- and footboards of the queen size bed. In addition to the aesthetic considerations, the bed has an exceptional structural strength, in part to accommodate all those jumping grandchildren.
As with many of our designs, this piece derives from our ongoing interest in the naturalistic motifs and sinuous lines of the Art Nouveau period. All of our bed designs can be made in any size, or combinations of woods to accommodate individual needs and taste.
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I was commissioned to build a queen-size, curly maple bed as part of a suite of furniture for a client who is a practicing Buddhist. She expressed her appreciation of my Art Nouveau style and her interest in using that as foundation for a new direction in furniture design.
After visiting her retreat and studying Buddhist texts and imagery, we agreed upon the iconography that would be the basis of the design.
In this bed, I used a historic Buddhist image of a landscape with waterfalls, and engraved it in the center section of the headboard. This landscape was bracketed by panels with deeply carved lotus blossoms, which would reappear in various forms on other pieces of furniture in this suite. The entire form of the bed drew upon the curved lines of the Art Nouveau period, but merged serenely with the naturalism of the Buddhist elements.
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This dresser is part of a suite of furniture created for a client who is a practicing Buddhist. While she needed basic furnishings, she wanted them to reflect her spiritual life and create an environment conducive to daily meditation.
This dresser compliments several other pieces in its use of the lotus blossom as a unifying symbol and ornamental motif, while the sinuous lines of the Art Nouveau style provide the form of the structure. The lower case is divided into a central section that curves forward with three graduated drawers, flanked on either side with paneled compartments with concave doors. This undulating line is retained in the perimeter of the dresser top, which itself supports a gallery with three small drawers. A frame and mirror rise above this gallery, carved with mortarboard shelves on either side. The lower bracing of the mirror unifies the upper and lower elements of this dresser, and reach upward and outward into the brackets of the shelves.
Carved lotus blossoms serve as handles for every drawer and door.
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