A Lutyens collection for Texas

One of our most recent projects came when the famous San Francisco design firm, the Wiseman Group, commissioned us to create a set of furniture for the Texan businessman John Little. John loves the designs of the famous English architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, which we bring to life today through working for Candia Lutyens, his granddaughter.

We created a Lutyens viceroy table for John’s home In Austin. While similar to the one we made for Yale University, in this case it’s designed to match the oval pattern of the dining room’s floor tiles. The table can be extended to add four additional leaves, with space for 12 chairs. The table was made from walnut, with a subtle ebony line detail, and a lacquer to provide durability. The elegant, spider-backed chairs are also taken from Lutyens drawings.

We also made two 1929 sofas, with extraordinary hand-carved details such as the Delhi bells and bun feet, in walnut with an ebonised finish. In consultation with our clients, we can also deviate from the original drawings where appropriate. In this case, John wanted the sofas to be higher than the original designs and, rather than being upholstered, we created these wonderful double-skinned cane panels.

The set was completed by this writing desk for John’s wife, based on the Lutyens Knebworth design, with sapele for the leaves and rails, and madrona burr for the top and drawer fronts.

John Little: “We’re big admirers of Sir Edwin Lutyens, so having this beautiful, hand-crafted furniture in our home, based on his original drawings, is a great feeling. Every step of the way, the work and service of the 1718 team has been outstanding.”