CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW BENCH

Joinery / Furniture

Chelsea flower show chanterelle mushroom bench

PROJECT
OVERVIEW

We were commissioned by Joe Perkins to design and make a bench seat for his Meta Garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, which explored the relationship between fungi and trees – our answer was the Chanterelle bench, inspired by the form of the mushroom that the chair shares its name with.

THE FINER
DETAILS

Chelsea flower show chanterelle mushroom bench with cushion, books and foliage behind

MATERIALS

Made from Scottish Elm and English Chestnut, both tough hardwoods and both indigenous to the UK. All the timber came from one boule of each species, so each individual piece shared the same grain and colouring.

front on view of the Chelsea flower show Meta garden chanterelle mushroom bench

CONSTRUCTION

A lengthy and detailed manufacturing process, starting with a skeletal frame and hundreds of individually shaped slats. Each slat is laminated together to clad the skeleton frame, then planed flush and finished by hand to give the final form.

close up view of the side slats on the Chelsea flower show chanterelle mushroom bench

AESTHETIC

Following the form of the Chanterelle mushroom; the flowing curves, the contrasting ribs, and gills. If the Chanterelle mushroom was a bench, this would be it. Featured widely on the BBC gardeners’ world coverage of Chelsea Flower Show 2022.

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