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Robert Wakeland's Kromme Coffee Table presents a masterful study in organic form and material dialogue, where laminated walnut veneer flows in a continuous serpentine gesture that defies the…

Kromme Coffee Table by Robert Wakeland is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 Silver A' Design Award in Furniture Design Competition Category.


SilverFurniture· 2025

Kromme Coffee Table

by Robert Wakeland

Client: Nice Form

Silver A' Design Award Winner in Furniture Category

58,737

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #165909

Colors

The Design

About Kromme Coffee Table

Inspired by the natural pattern of ocean waves, the Kromme Table uses a single strip of veneer to symbolize the continuous flow of the sea. Crafted entirely out of solid walnut, the veneer sections are laminated using thin pieces molded together to form a sculpture like curve. Minimal supports crafted from aluminum are added for strength. The glass top provides a clear view of the wood grain beneath. The Kromme Table is a sculptural statement for those who want a piece of furniture that is both stylish and functional.

The Recognition

About the Silver A' Design Award

Kromme Coffee Table is a Silver A' Design Award winner, an extraordinarily prestigious recognition granted to top-of-the-line, gorgeous, and impressive designs. Silver winners are tremendously brilliant and exceedingly creative works that illustrate the outstanding expertise, talent, and acuity of their designers. Kromme Coffee Table is expected to be a wonderful, showpiece work that is remarkably professional and profoundly innovative. This Silver A' Design Award-winning design is a highly notable, admired invention that benefits and advances the boundaries of art, science, design, and technology. Kromme Coffee Table is a vastly envied creation that evokes desires, introduces positive feelings, and sparks amazement and wonderment.

Where to Get It

Handcrafted Custom Furniture Design

We create sculptural furniture pieces that blend traditional craftsmanship with contemporary design. Using North American hardwoods and time-honored joinery, our award-winning studio transforms natural materials into functional art for your space.

Commission Design

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties
Crafted entirely out of solid walnut veneer, the Kromme Table uses a very simple curvature to allow for a glass top. The veneer sections are laminated using 1/16” pieces molded together to form a sculpture like curve. Minimal supports crafted from aluminum are added for strength. The glass top provides a clear view of the wood grain beneath. The design is inspired by ocean waves, using one long strip of veneer to symbolize the continuous flow of the sea. A sculptural statement for those who want a piece of furniture that is both stylish and functional.
Dimensions & Packaging
Width 444.5 mm x Depth 1333.5mm x Height 355.6mm
Tags
Sculptural Furniture, Coffee Table, Bent Lamination, Curved wood, Solid Walnut Veneer
Production Technology
Due to the nature of how veneers are cut with a knife, not a blade, it produces almost no waste as opposed to a thicker saw producing about 40% sawdust. While the visible layers of the piece are straight grain walnut, the interior uses the less desirable sections you typically get from true veneer. Such as sap wood. Those were placed into the center layers which ended up creating very minimal waste.

Attention to detain when creating the form was the key to a successful and accurate production. The form used to create the molds was fixed to a flat surface using dovetail sliding joinery. It served as a perfect track and avoided any movement while clamping.
Design Challenge
How to build this long flowing structure out of a single strip of wood was the main challenge. Steam bending was another option that was explored. However, you need to cut strips at a thicker weight to still maintain sustainability to some extent. And ripping 90 inch strips 4 times per section proved to produce too much waste. Thats's when bent lamination of thinner veneers was decided upon for construction.
Research
The initial concept of this design was inspired by ocean waves. I wanted to create a piece of functional and beautiful furniture that was constructed in a unique way. Hence the long single strips of veneer used to laminate the structure. You don’t often see bent lamination executed in this complexity. Which was part of the motivation behind this method of construction. Sure, joinery could have been used. However the result would not be the long flowing grain often seen in nature. One of the details that was important to maintain.
Inspiration
The goal was to create a table that was unique in both construction, form and inspired by nature. It was also important from a design point of view to be very simple, hence staying with one fluid piece of veneer for the construction. A finished piece that was just as bold as it is simple.
Project Duration
This project was started in July 2023 in New York City. It was executed and finished in upstate New York in August of 2024.
Operation Flow
The result is a sculptural piece of furniture that is as much of a conversation starter as it is functional.
Patents
© 2024 Nice Form LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Team Members
Robert Wakeland
Image Credits
All images and videos are created by Nice Form LLC.

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