Home Furnishings:

True Beauty

Contributed By: Caitlin Bristol

Lighting and furniture designer, David Trubridge has long been creating livable designs that are as much art as they are home accessory. One of his most recognizable pieces, the Coral light, is based on the structure of a geometric polyhedron and is reminiscent of, you guessed it, a coral reef. The Spiral Island set also serves to bring nature’s balance indoors. This light and seat pairing was made to mimic the way clouds sit over small islands in the Pacific Ocean. Tropical vacation in your living room, anyone?

Tropical daydreaming aside, it’s the seriousness with which Trubridge incorporates his nature-as-muse philosophy that makes his designs so powerful: “I make forms of elemental simplicity, as the erosion of air and water on wood and stone, forms that speak of humanity’s survival on earth, of life’s fragility and dependence, of comfort in the ways of the past that have succoured us, and optimism for a sustainable and enriching future.”

It’s no surprise then that all wood comes from sustainable managed plantations in Australia, the US or New Zealand (where he completes all manufacturing) and that Trubridge subscribes to a cradle to cradle ethos where while waiting for a suitable plant-based plastic, styles with plastic are currently designed so that the material can be easily separated out and recycled. With regard to finishes, the wood is often left in its natural state, but when finishes are needed, Trubridge uses only organic, non-toxic natural oils.