Classic cabinetmakers Royal Oak Furniture have made a radical departure from their traditional style with a brand new contemporary range called POP.
Mark Kent, whose father Paul started the Yorkshire Dales business in 1977, has injected some charisma of his own into the new collection. Although inspired by designs from the 1950’s, the new range is brought bang up to date with the use of today’s striking colour palettes. It moves away from the recent trend of square clean furniture to combine stylish turned legs and curves with varied geometric lines.
Made in solid wood, the range demonstrates the skill of these world-class craftsmen whose brand was originally founded on oak and is established as one of the finest UK cabinetmaking firms.
Mark explains “We have always worked in a variety of timbers, with cherry, mahogany and walnut alongside as many as fifteen different oak finishes in all our ranges, but many of our designs have ultimately been geared towards oak. The POP collection not only lends itself to lighter woods, it will also work well with a darker wood such as walnut. We are demonstrating how working with paint techniques can really contrast with and complement handmade wood furniture.”
The furniture is available in four colours as standard, but customers can commission any colour they choose, with endless options in terms of paint colours and timbers used; or without paint at all.
Mark says “The paint colour can be garish by itself, but the wood acts as a natural softener which makes the furniture eye catching without being overly extrovert”.
The furniture features beautifully crafted cut-out handle pulls on the sideboard pieces, with concealed soft closing runners on the large drawers and soft-close hinges on the doors. The legs on the occasional tables and cabinet units are hand-turned.
Adjustable dovetailed boxes can be positioned anywhere within the framework of the versatile bookcase shelving unit. Each box has an ingenious groove cut in its base to locate it onto the adjustable shelf studs and the boxes can be painted to contrast with the timber frame, or left natural.
The sofa cushions are upholstered with a fabric to match or complement a chosen paint colour.
Oak asserts itself within the POP range in the solid oak occasional table tops. While they may appear lightweight, with an under chamfer these are robust pieces of furniture for modern day living.
A dining set and desk unit are currently being developed to further enhance the new range which comprises; sofa, occasional tables, shelving unit, sideboards, TV units and a 12 drawer chest. Standard colours are apple, mulberry, midnight and pebble.