Canadian Designer Spotlight: Brent Comber

Brent Comber   is an  innovative  Canadian furniture maker  who uses local woods to produce a variety of designs.  I first became aware of his work through his Alder series.  He dries and fastens alder branches and then carves the piles into cubic shapes. By combining organic materials with geometric lines he produces furniture with a very dynamic aesthetic. I particularly like the idea of using alder - a sustainable wood- that growns like a weed in most places in Canada.  My husband is always battling alder bush growth near our summer house in Newfoundland. Alders grow quickly  into dense stands and left alone they will overtake an area. 

Brent Comber  alder stools and bench

Round alder stools

54 inch Alder disk at White Horses Spa

This  54� Alder Disk  hung in  White Horses Spa at Doonbeg Golf Lodge,  Ireland.  While the same materials used in Comber's furniture pieces are used in the disk, the viewer is  engaged in a different way, looking  directly at the patterns and rhythms  that emerge at eye level. The piece is convex in shape and the light changes depending on time of day and the viewing angle similar to the way the light is filtered in a forest.  

Baumkuchn Cafe, Tokyo, "log cake"

In German, Baumkuchn translates literally as �tree cake� or �log cake�. This European dessert is also popular in Japan, and is the namesake for this cafe in Tokyo.  The 120 foot feature wall, texturally stunning and  simplistically beautiful, serves as a cohesive element in the design of this small space.  

T  Cup stool

 This simple design speaks of the strength and stability of wood while referencing its passage and growth.

And there's so much more... 

Aperture table

Horizon Dining Table

The man behind the design....

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 Check out Brent Comber at Jennifer Kostuik Gallery.

This fall  Brent Comber was awarded Western Living's Furniture Designer of the Year.

Bring on the green

St. Patrick's Day gets lots of attention where I live because so many of us have Irish roots.  While the partying and music happened last weekend, I'm doing my own bit today by recommending green as a colour to consider in decor if you like to bring the outside in.  When someone says they hate green, I'm  flabbergasted.  How can you hate the the most prominent colour in nature?

You can have a little green woven in with any other hues and it always looks good.  Think plants.  Is there any room a plant doesn't work in?  Or you can have a green statement piece or green accessories mixed with another colour.  The possibilities are endless when you think about the variety of greens and the proportion of use in a space.

A green statement piece 

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A green velvet sofa is daring and this one sings because of the white walls and light artwork above it.  

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This is still a statement in an otherwise white room,  just a more subtle one. 

Green  furniture and accents 

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I am more drawn to yellow greens like the ones in this space.  Love the leafy references in pillows and romans.  This much green needs the relief of white walls.  I would like to see more of the blue green as a stronger punch of colour.  

Just a hint of green in a neutral space 

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Just the merest hint of accents of green with plants and branches can liven a white space. This little amount of green only works well in very light space. 

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You can weave  a little more green into any neutral space and it can either sit back and  quietly warm it or...

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say, "Look at me, I'm the life of the room".  I'm particularly fond of this colour scheme and the use of texture in the space. 

I guess you've figured out from my photo references that I like green with white and gray.  It's the fresh punch that intrigues me, and for that you need a quiet background.  There are other ways to work  with greens  using lots of black for instance, but then the room gets too shouty for me.  Are you a lover of green?