The new love of my life

Last weekend I had a visit from my Dad. This was no ordinary visit however, this was a visit that involved my Dad hiring a van and spending the previous evening in a room full of bubblewrap. This visit was to deliver the writing desk that my Dad had made. From scratch. I cannot tell you how excited I was for this day!





Let me give you a little bit of background. My Dad loves working with wood, and is very good at it. In his house he's made various cupboards, a beautiful coffee table and some stunning meditation stools for my step-mum Mina. Last year I'd asked Dad if he would make me something, and I was quite keen for it to be a sewing box. However, the type of box I wanted was incredibly fiddly - and would cost so much money that it wasn't really worth it. Dad said he didn't feel he could make something by hand that would be better than something already made on the high street. So, we were back to the drawing board.




Dad asked me "Is there anything else you'd really like?" Not thinking for a second he'd take on the challenge I responded "Yes - a writing bureau!" My love of writing bureaus stems from my childhood. My Gran had one - and it was a place none of the children (or adults for that matter) were allowed to touch. However, it was also the place my Gran kept her 'special' felt tip pens (they were the fancy Berol ones) and I was the only grandchild who was allowed to use them. I always remember Gran saying to me that I had to be extra careful to 'click ' the top on the pen - otherwise they would dry out. Needless to say - I was super careful.



Dad told me to leave it with him and before I knew it he was sending me sketches and we were discussing measurements! Dad began work on the bureau in January - and spent the majority of his spare time up until last weekend working on it.

 

Some bureau facts:

• The bureau is predominantly made from cherry but the lighter bits you can see are beech. 
• It took my Dad about 400 hours in total - about double what he originally estimated!
• There are 240 dovetail joints in the bureau. Dad cut out every single one by hand. 
• The finish that gives the desk that beautiful shine is because Dad used shellac. Shellac is basically beetle juice. The amount of shellac he used would require the juices of about 10,000 beetles. 
• The leather is not from a cow - but a lamb. 
• The bureau's finish (which doesn't show up very well in these photos) is different depending where you stand. This effect is seen in a lot of gemstones like tiger's eye. This effect is called chatoyancy (great word isn't it?)
• The guy my Dad bought the wood from said a bespoke piece of furniture like this would sell for a good few grand.

I cannot tell you how in love with this piece of furniture I am! The desk was designed to be a working desk. Obviously - things have moved on a bit from when this style of desk was first designed - so this one fits my laptop perfectly. When I work from home - I use it all the time. I'm sat here right now and adore it.

Thank you so much Dad for making me such a beautiful piece of furniture. Lets hope my kids and grandkids appreciate my taste too!