Eva Timber Bed Base

The brief was to design a bed base that could be flat-packed and designed in a way that meant it could be assembled and disassembled by the customer many times over without compromising it’s structural integrity. The brief was also to challenge the notion that flat-pack furniture was both poorly made and difficult to put together by selecting the best quality raw materials and eliminating the dreaded Allen key. The design also had to hit strict budget restraints to enable us to market the product at the best possible price with compromising on the quality of the finished product.

When we first began designing the bed base we really focused on the manufacturing side of the project rather than approaching it from an aesthetic prospective. We knew right from the outset that we needed to utilise CNC Manufacturing. CNC machines take out all the labour intensive processes, enabling us to keep costs to a minimum. A big part of the brief was also to eliminate any unnecessary fixings and the use of an Allen key. The leg became central to this and by combing this with a lap join it became the part that held the whole bed together.

Material selection was really important part of the process. We began by auditing all their environmental credentials to ensure the wood was not only FSC certified but also the glues that they were using gave off the lowest amount of VOC’s. Waste material is also extremely important when you are using incredible raw materials because you don’t want to waste anything. Any off-cuts that we did get were used in another process to ensure that we produced virtually zero waste. When it came to selecting the finish for the bed base we selected a natural oil that emits Zero VOC’s.

I think what makes this product unique is the way that it challenges people’s perception of the world of flat-pack furniture. We wanted to create something that was not only affordable but made to the highest quality. A lot brands in this market would go down the route of substituting in cheaper raw materials and inferior components in order to bring the costs down. We approached this in a slightly different way and used the best materials and components we could find and then eliminated any of the manufacturing processes that added costs. This also meant that as you scale the manufacturing, the costs naturally come down because it just becomes more and more efficient. You also ensure that you use the same components across all products so again your supply chain can also adopt the same principles and benefit from their own manufacturing efficiencies. There was also big focus on the product fitting seamlessly into peoples lives by considering a simple aesthetic. We also integrated. cable management and a location to enable you to store your iphone or Ipad.