Furniture design has evolved beyond simply concentrating on utility. Today’s furniture makers combine utility and aesthetic elements to create utilitarian pieces that also serve as fashionable decorations. And when it comes to wooden design, a piece does not have to be overly beautiful. A fanciful approach to furniture design can be just as attractive as one with a more refined style. And, like any other form of art, a woodworker can use wood to bring his ideas to life, just as a painter does with color.
Let Henk Verhoeff quench your doubts if you’re not persuaded that timber can be transformed into a stunning piece of art. Henk is from Auckland, New Zealand, and has been a furniture builder for over 50 years. Despite the fact that he has already resigned from his work, his passion for the craft has not faded. As a pastime, he still spent the majority of his time building cabinets and other timber furniture. But this time, he is able to plan and build the cabinets himself.
This Unique Woodwork May Look like Broken Furniture, But It Is Fully Functional
Henk’s creations, in contrast to traditional cabinets, are genuinely extraordinary. The drawers may appear to be broken, but that is the intention. One might assume that his creations are about to break apart due to their disproportionate structure and big cracks. However, each one-of-a-kind dresser is completely practical and carefully made to fool your eyes. Indeed, these unusual items are not found in any store. These pieces of furnishings appear to be right out of a Disney movie.
Linda, Henk’s daughter, set up a Facebook profile to display her father’s whimsical yet useful creations. The Facebook group rapidly garnered a lot of notice due to the uniqueness of the pieces. And Henk’s unique furniture designs ultimately got global. People who saw his amusingly strange cabinets thought Henk was inspired by traditional Disney movies and fairy tales. However, Henk disclosed that his apparently broken and strange furniture designs are merely the result of his “twisted brain.”
Henk Verhoeff Showing One Of His Furniture Creations
Based on the intricate design, even experts would concur that these items require a great deal of skill, time, and care to create. And this demonstrates how the old artist is in a class of his own.
“It’s hard to say how long each piece takes me.”, Henk shares. “It’s unset times during the week and it could easily be 80-100 hours. Sometimes details or angles don’t work and I have to start again. I use recycled New Zealand pine, mostly, but if I can get my hands on some Rimu, I will also use that.”
Many people have inquired as to whether he sells his fairy-tale-like works. However, Henk stated that he made these unusual pieces of furniture for the joy of the craft and did not intend to sell them for the time being. The one-of-a-kind cabinets are now adorning Henk’s house, and he has no intentions of selling them. When he runs out of the storage room, he may contemplate selling or auctioning them. So, keep an eye out for that potential in the future.
