By VICKI HOLDER
The look is edgy, clean with simple, straight lines. Yet the real issue is comfort, says Chris Gee of Auckland furniture design and manufacturing company Apartmento.
The company has quietly made a name with its modern designs based on balanced proportion and unadorned simplicity. Apartmento furniture is not untouchable
- it sits in an environment.
His business partner Stuart Bowman says: "People aren't prepared to put up with just a look. We like to think that our furniture will still be really effective in 20 years' time. We are into finishes and strong architectural shapes."
Of a large round, matte lacquer-finished coffee table, Mr Gee says: "The design and finish are really rudimentary. But there's an obvious playful movement of light through the hole in the middle. The proportions give the opening its interest. When you do such simple shapes, the quality becomes more apparent and important. You can't hide anything because that's the only detail there is."
Mr Bowman points to a storage unit with a double flood star grain and a lacquer finish on top. "It's a time-consuming way of finishing a piece, but it gives you depth. It's not glossy, but it's hard wearing."
Oak is used extensively because it takes finishes so well. Although Messrs Gee and Bowman like the texture of the classic grain they don't want the curls to look obvious. That would be too much. The lacquer seems to tone it down.
"We don't want a lot of gloss. We use quite a lot of veneers. Veneers are high-quality and make great use of a limited resource."
As for colour, Mr Gee points to a neutral-coloured wall covered in a grainy wash of paint. "To us that's a colour," he says.
Holding a piece of taupe leather against the brushed alloy leg of a sofa, he demonstrates that while a scheme can be monochromatic, or diluted, it is the way light affects the different textures that brings them to life.
