WE WOOD, modern portuguese furniture

A friend looking to furnish her recently acquired apartment and wanting to escape the mass market furniture distributors, asked me to recommend her a Portuguese furniture brand.

I have chosen We Wood because I have been following their work for a while. Their wide range of objects make them a nice destination point if you have an empty apartment and you are looking for good quality, modern furniture. On top, I appreciate the craftsmanship, natural materials and the sort of retro look with a modern twist.

WE WOOD – Portuguese Joinery is a furniture brand born in 2010, in the north of Portugal. They mix the creativeness of new generations and the craftsmanship of an atelier producing furniture since 1964. The products range from chairs and sideboards to tables and desks.

Their wood work is very impressive and the playful details, such as the hidden drawers, are my unconfessed dream. They have an internal design team, but also produce articles from different national and international designers.

Below, you will find my favourite pieces.

Photos: Courtesy of We Wood – Portuguese Joinery

The entry hall

In our apartment, the scenario when we arrive home is more or less like this: shoes off, handbag in the floor, keys loosely left on the nearest table together with mail and the gentleman’s wallet. Give it two or three busy days and our entry hall looks to have lived through a thunderstorm.

This console solves part of the issue. It’s a mix of wood and steel, it has a rail in the back to store the latest mail, three drawers for random items and a little hole eager to collect all the strained keys, wallets and pacifiers…

The dinning room

Scarpa_sideboard_fbranco_semsombras — Scarpa sideboard

I like sideboards. They always make me think about the house on an old aunt. They evoke the 70’s, chic ladies, Scandinavian design, glamorous parties and aren’t they practical? You slide the door and hide all your mess inside.

The wood work details, in the door of this sideboard in particular, are a dream. Inside, in a drawer behind the door you can store all the little things lying around. I would put it next to the dinner table to keep my precious ceramics.

I have a friend who uses a similar piece in the entry hall to store… shoes… Yes, that’s right! I would never think about it but guess what? It really works. You get to store a lot of shoes and with the swipe of the door all that mess that normally is lying around is hidden away. Best of all, you have a nice piece of furniture, instead of the usual shoe closet.

The office

Look at all those drawers and hiding places! I am a big paper hoarder. As much as I try to keep my space clean and organised I always find myself with all those papers I have no idea where to store and I am not sure I can/ want throw away. This is what I like in Metis desk. You have plenty of options to store things away.

Designed by Gonçalo Campos for We Wood, this desk offers plenty of storage. In a recent Financial Times article on portuguese furniture, this was one the mentioned pieces.

The parents room

It is probably quite a luxurious place to keep underwear, pijamas and t-shirts, but it gives a the room a visual uplift. I though about it for the bedroom for its’ sensual look. For some reason it is called ‘Touch’.

It was designed by Suricata Design Studio, who also did the stool ‘Multibanqueta‘ for We Wood.