There is a reason why customers love bespoke interior designs. Why do they pay a huge premium to own original furniture? The craftsmanship is absolutely stunning. The flipside? The designs are hard to execute!
Here’s how we at Wood and Metal dealt with one such challenge.
A huge construction project in Bangalore had an amazing plan in mind for its five-storied building. The client’s architect had a vision – a living room that will have a stunning skylight from the terrace to the ground floor. The plan was that the skylight would be delivered through 5 floors and will be made with 3000 to 4000 planks of solid wood!
The plan was dazzling but executing it proved to be next to impossible. The architect who designed it, one of the best in the city, could not make the idea work outside the paper. The alternative was to use only metal but how would it look? Imagine close to 7 tons of metal! Not only will it look clunky, but it would also put a load on the building.
The client called us to come and take a look. We then put our best people to work, including our project architect and in-house experts. The result was a translation of the architect’s vision to reality. Today, the skylight is the centerpiece of the project. Flooding the multistoried building with natural light, it casts a majestic spotlight.
Here’s the problem. The luxury furniture and interior market require high caliber designs and turnkey interior execution. We have worked with some of the greatest architects and contractors in the world, designers who have created famous seven-star hotels, mansions, and palaces for royalty in the middle east.
Interior design architects do extraordinary work, but when it comes to practical usage and practicality, they may have missed something. This is where we come in.
Here’s how high-end Interior Design projects go wrong
At Wood and Metal, we meet clients who look for high-end, intricate luxury projects. They hire architects and contractors of the highest caliber in the area of commercial interior design. The architect designs turnkey projects that require unique customizations. There will be sofas or furniture, for instance, that will be special designs that will never be seen or replicated elsewhere. They come at a premium but this is what the clients want. They want superior craftsmanship and execution. When working on such high-end projects, carpentry and millwork truly matter.
When an architect works with solid wood or veneer, they have their own carpenters or hire those they have worked with before. They also hire contractors to implement their designs. The biggest problem here is that these carpenters and contractors, skilled and experienced as they are, may have their own limitations. For example, they may find it difficult to read drawings. When an architect makes sketches, understanding technical points can be a huge challenge, especially in the highly competitive luxury market. Take joinery, for example. It is the act of putting furniture and elements of the house’s woodwork together. Joinery is much more nuanced and ornamental than the work done by a carpenter. Contractors may not understand how joinery works and why it should be strong enough.
With the architect, they won’t have time to explain everything to the contractors and the client will not want to get involved either. In turnkey projects, a client wants to leave everything to the architect and the interior contractor. This is where we step in with our project architects.
The project architect is your new best friend
We have an in-house team of experts, including a project architect who bridges the gap between the architect and the client. Our project architects work with the client’s team. They have superior knowledge and understanding of solid wood. They understand and even work on shop drawings to make intricate designs a reality. Carpenters and architects do not always have this particular expertise.
Most interior companies won’t have in house architects or a project architect who coordinates with the architect, interior contractor, or production team. We give that high-end support.
Architects may put together an amazing, workable design but they still need someone to make it workable. From joinery and strength to the nuts and bolts of how complex furniture design works, the project manager understands what is possible and what is not.
There is a huge advantage to this approach. It can save time, money and output. As leaders in the luxury interiors market, we think it brings one unbeatable advantage. The quality is just outstanding.
Our role in the luxury Interior Design market
We are a reputable private limited company with a good amount of experience and we also have a workshop with our own factories. We have project architects. We assign one project architect who coordinates with the client and their architect – whoever designed it.
We are experts who also execute hands-on work and also, we give alternate solutions to the architect when there are design challenges in the execution.
We know and understand hospitality interior design and the luxury market.
While many companies work on rubber and fine wood, we work exclusively on premium teak and rosewood. We value the craftsmanship of premium wood.
We have homegrown, superior craftspeople from Kerala. They are masters in solid wood and this gives us a huge advantage when it comes to woodwork, finishing, veneer, and solid wood polishing. Our craftspeople are experts in finishing and buffing.
Being experts in the luxury interiors market, we have the infrastructure to support high-end work. We are a private limited company, which makes us ideal for large project investments. We have extensively worked with the architects and contractors of international fame, many of whom have built famous seven-star hotels and palaces in the Middle East.
In Bangalore, our 3-acre factory is equipped with machinery from Italy and Germany. We also buy products in bulk, which works out better for the client’s team. They end up saving costs and maximizing output due to the superior tools at their disposal.For instance, if you want to polish the furniture because we buy close to 100 liters of polish in bulk, it ends up saving cost for you. Whereas, a carpenter’s team that works separately and on-site can manage up to 2 liters of polish within a specific budget. Extra material, machinery, and technology goes a long way in creating a high-premium product and sticking to tight schedules.
The beauty of bespoke solid wood furniture is that it has a personal ethos that makes it stand out. It cannot be found elsewhere, which makes it a perfect heirloom piece too. We also customize and design wooden work to fit particular spaces inside houses. Many contractors often don’t know the difference between solid wood and plywood-veneer. They do not have expertise with solid wood. At Wood and Metal, solid wood is our specialty.
Our On-going Interior Design Project
We are now working on an ultra-luxury urban mansion, for our client from Dubai, on the outskirts of the Kannur coastline. We are executing high-end teakwood interiors.
There is something different about this house. The ceilings are complicated. You must have heard of a false ceiling, which is usually made of POP. This mansion’s false ceiling is made completely with wood. It’s not even plywood or veneer laminate but solid wood. It covers the entire ceiling like a lush, brazen, rustic sky. The architect needed help with executing the nuts and bolts of such a complex yet stunning design, and this is where our expertise made us shine.
Summing up, we would like to say, Customized modifications don’t just come with a price. They need a team that can understand complex drawings and bridges the gap between the architects and the production house. At Wood and Metal, we bring such intricate and exclusive designs to life.
