Mahogany Outdoor Bench With Sliding Table
This outdoor bench was made to fit against a stone wall at my client's backyard garden. We wanted to highlight the stone wall since it was one of the key features that tied the whole backyard together. We decided to use clean, simple, lines to design the bench. The bench uses 2 1/2" thick boards of mahogany since it needs to span 8 feet, but it also gives the bench a visual weight that helps to make the simple lines bold. The stone wall can be used as a back rest. The use of natural materials used in this raw way is appealing to me. There's little frou frou and the heaviness of each of the materials fits with the concept of the outdoor space.
The garden backyard was designed not only as a garden, but also as a social place where guests can enjoy each other's company outdoors as many people here in Austin love to do. With that in mind, we designed the bench with a table that slide along the length of the bench. This sliding table serves not only to hold guest's drinks or plates, but it also gives more flexibility to different kinds of guests. If there's a couple that want to sit next to each other, then move the table over. If you just want to sit with a friend for a chat, then you can also share the table by sliding it in between. Maybe someone is telling a story and everyone wants to sit on the bench, then you can roll the table off to squeeze another person in.
The bench is finished using Sikkens Cetol 1+23 system.
Dimensions: 8 ft long, 18" high, 19" wide