Roll Top Desk

The desk is made from Tasmanian Blackwood, finished in varnish but using a French polish technique for an ultra-smooth feel, and adorned with solid brass fixings. Regardless of its surroundings, this desk has substantial presence, not only because it is a large and traditional design, but because every side of the desk (including the back) features rail and style and floating panel construction. Right down to the knee hole panel details, the drawers and the breadboard extension, even the quality old-world lock and key to secure the desktop, this is an impressive piece of furniture.

Upon opening the roll top, two things are apparent:

First, the rolling mechanism is made lighter because this desk has spring-loaded counter-balances which reside behind the pigeon hole structure to aid opening and closing of the desktop space.

Second, this roll top desk is designed as a computer workstation. Accordingly, its pigeon holes are shaped to house a monitor and printer, and plenty of paper, and all cords disappear into a dead-space at the back of the desk. A single power cord extends from the base.

Traditionally, leather is glued on the inside back of each rolling “stave” but David has seen many antique rolls fail in this area. Instead, he custom ordered extra heavy denim and sandwiched the material between two staves, one visible on the outside, and one on the inside. The inside stave is then screwed through the material to form a permanent and flexible roll.