This month at Forest to Home, we’re all about soothing, sleep-inducing spaces. Co-Founder and Creative Director Sam Baker explains…
Here in Wiltshire, we’re surrounded by a riot of Autumnal colours. The lofty trees around our workshop are fast shedding their golden leaves, while indoors our work carries on apace. Busier than ever, we are immersing ourselves in designing and crafting our new bedroom collection – and hoping a second national lockdown doesn’t stand in our way.
As we all continue to pick our way through the pandemic, it’s perhaps unsurprising that many people – including us – are focusing on the spaces in which we sleep. According to the Dalai Lama, sleep is the best meditation, and everyone from Marilyn Monroe to Winnie the Pooh has extolled its virtues. Now, in the face of global uncertainty, we’re prizing a good night’s shut-eye more and more.
This month, we’ve been thrilled to deliver the first bed from our new Cruck range. Handcrafted from British oak, its gentle curves are inspired by the arched, timber cruck frames that stoically support so many of England’s medieval buildings. From Bradford-on-Avon’s vast tithe barn to Lacock’s timber-framed cottages, Wiltshire is peppered with these stunning structures, steeped in history.
Handcrafted with a combination of sawn and smoothly-sanded oak, our cruck-inspired bed has a multiplicity of textures. With a curved headboard and arched footboard, it seamlessly combines ‘clean’ timber with its more characterful, rustic counterpart. And on a practical note, it is designed with a modular frame, which means it can be installed in the most awkward of spaces.
With the centrepiece of our collection complete, we are now turning our design expertise to the rest of the bedroom range. From a traditional wardrobe, made from pale-coloured ash, to practical yet elegant bedside tables, this is all about creating peaceful spaces that embrace sleep. After all, our bedrooms are a soothing sanctuary, something we need more than ever in these exceptional times.
