Olive ash coffe tables: design inspired by nature for Moroso

Have a look at the design furniture Devoto Design created for Moroso: coffee tables in solid olive ash wood carved out of a trunk, a mix of nature and design that gives birth to “living” and ever-changing pieces of furniture. 

In the interior design world, the fusion of nature and functionality represents one of the most fascinating challenges. And this is the balance that characterizes the project of the solid olive ash tables that we made for Moroso. These pieces of furniture – for an exclusive hotel – perfectly show the inner nature of wood, as well as the mix of craftsmanship and technology that gave birth to these unique pieces and experiences.

The essence of olive ash in contemporary design

Solid olive ash wood is the protagonist of these tables; it was chosen not only for its sturdiness but also for the dimension of the trunks, its availability on the market and its competitive price.  We had little time to find a trunk that was big enough to obtain the tables from a whole section, without any visible joints. We purchased a 1,5 m diameter trunk coming from France and we carved the tables out of it with the precision that only the CNC technology can give. This process made it possible to keep the original nature of the wood, enhancing its natural features such as cracks and knots that make each piece unique and inimitable.

Nevertheless, working with a trunk of such dimensions didn’t prove to be easy. Plus, when you purchase an entire trunk you never know what it is like on the inside: it’s like opening a present! Every trunk is unique, with colour nuances and irregularities that come out only after the cutting.

In this case, the olive ash trunk turned out to be a natural mosaic with dark and fair areas that coexisted in the same sections. This colour variety on the one hand gave authenticity and personality to the tables, but on the other hand required a technical intervention to make the overall colour more consistent, without affecting the beauty behind this diversity (goes without saying). We simply applied a finishing oil that leveled out the different colour shades without affecting or hiding the natural essence of the wood.

Tables in olive ash wood: furniture that evolves over time

Wood is a “living” material and is affected by the environmental conditions that surround it – and this is the same for these olive ash wood tables. It means that over time their wood can crack or swell or shrink, making these tables “living” pieces of furniture that grow and get old together with their owner.

THEY HAD TO BE IN OLIVE ASH because they had to be fair-coloured, so that it was possile to see the grain, the nuance, the essence and the truth of this honest material; but the contradiction that we had to face – together with Moroso – was that it was fresh and damp and we knew that it was likely to shrink over time.  And when it does – like all kinds of wood – it cracks on the perimeter, not in the middle. (Claudio Devoto, Devoto Design president)

VIDEO DA 1.55 FINO ALLA FINE 

The collaboration between Devoto Design and Moroso gave birth to a project that is not only the result of technique and technology, but also a perfect example of deep sensitivity towards natural materials. Working with such big trunks was not easy, especially if you take into account the unpredictability of the raw material itself. The result is a piece of furniture that lives, breathes, and changes over time, just like the nature it comes from.

Nature and Innovation for the ash tables: the future of design

This project is a valid example of the way design can match functionality with the artistic expression of nature. The use of cutting-edge technology of wood working, together with an approach that aims at respecting and enhancing the features of the material itself, is one of the future paths of interior design. A future where nature and innovation work together to create spaces that are not only functional but also deeply connected to the environment and to emotions. Thanks to the use of technology and to our craftsmanship approach, we have been able to enhance the characteristics of solid olive ash wood, winning the challenges that we had to face to produce the tables.

TO MAKE THESE “ROCKS”, Devoto Design, thanks to its deep knowledge of wood, was able to model and shape – with great awareness – 1,5 m diameter tree trunks expressly coming from France. These elements, despite their apparent semplicity, can convey a sensory experience with a strong emotional impact.  Their rough shape, the surfaces treated with straw oil, the cracks in the wood let free of “moving” according to the season cycles, all this is the expression of a refined design that aims at reconciling functionality and nature. (Moroso)

The olive ash tables represent a bridge between nature and contemporary living. Their ability of changing over time makes them unique, turning each of them into a “living” piece, in continual evolution. This project is a good example of how design can be means of exploring the beauty of the natural world and making it part of our every-day life.