When a client in high-end men’s fashion commissioned a bespoke coffee table, Andrew went further than the brief. The result is a one-of-a-kind piece where the language of tailoring (buckles, bands, and precise detail) is reinterpreted entirely in hand-formed and hand-patinated brass.
The client worked at the high end of the men’s fashion world. That context was enough for Andrew. Rather than designing a conventional table and adding a decorative flourish, the question became: what would a table look like if it were made the way a great tailor approaches a suit?
The answer arrived in the form of a belt. Sculptural brass bands wrap around the frame of the table, appearing to pull the legs together and hold the whole structure in place. The design works because it commits to the idea. These are not decorative prints or surface etchings. Each belt element is three-dimensional, hand-formed in the workshop, and finished with the same care a craftsman would give to the stitching on a handmade jacket.
The table was designed to sit comfortably in any setting and work as a genuine talking point. It is a confident piece, without being loud.
The buckle detail is where the real craft lies, and it took time to get right.
Early iterations of the design lacked the tonal depth needed to make the buckle read clearly in three dimensions. On a flat or uniformly finished surface, the individual elements of a buckle (the frame, the bar, the prong) can dissolve into one another. To solve this, Andrew introduced a combination of techniques: selective patination to age and darken certain parts, alongside areas of polished brass left bright to catch the light. The contrast between a warm, patinated finish and a crisp polished surface is what gives the buckle its convincing depth.
The buckle itself is waterjet cut from brass for precision, before the hand finishing begins. Waterjet cutting allows the profile to be exact while still leaving the surface work entirely to the craftsman’s hand.
Patination is at the heart of what makes this table work. A buckle in uniform brass, however well made, does not tell a story. Patination allows us to age different elements selectively: deepening some areas to recede, leaving others bright to advance. The result, when done well, is the impression of something that has genuine wear and history.
Each belt on this table is patinated individually by hand in our Devon workshop. No two tables will be identical. The depth of colour shifts slightly between pieces, which is part of what makes hand-patinated metalwork worth having.
The finished table brings together waterjet-cut precision, hand-formed three-dimensional metalwork, and individually applied patination into a single coherent object. It sits as naturally in a well-dressed living room as it does in a creative studio or office.
This is what bespoke furniture design looks like when the starting point is a conversation about craft, not just a specification.
The Belted Coffee Table is also available in a range of bespoke configurations through our Bespoke Design Service. We can adjust the size and height, increase or reduce the number of belt bands, incorporate a lower shelf held in place with matching belt strap detailing, and work in alternative material combinations including brass and glass shelves or even brass with a polished leather top and shelves!
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You can also see the full range of our bespoke coffee tables to explore other handmade designs in brass, zinc, and copper.
If this piece has sparked an idea for your own space, we would love to hear about it. Get in touch to tell us what you have in mind.
