The Inspiration Behind Our Autumn/ Winter 2023 Collection: An Interview With Furniture Designer Matt

September 2023 Rachael Pattison

A picture of our furniture designer Matt making sketches of some of the furniture in a new furniture collection.

Estimated Read Time: 5 Minutes

We are so thrilled to announce the launch of our new collection for Autumn/ Winter 2023! We have some incredible pieces lined up, taking inspiration from various trends, styles, and previous designs in our furniture range.

Matt, our in-house designer, has carefully thought out all the furniture designs in this new collection. Continue reading to learn more about the inspiration behind our Autumn/ Winter 2023 collection, and how Matt brings his ideas to life to provide gorgeous furniture pieces for your home!

Matt, what was your main source of inspiration behind this season’s collection?

An image of a living room with furniture. The furniture includes wooden coffee table with a basket and a vase with white flowers inside. The room has a light blue wall and a grey rug on the floor.

I pulled inspiration from a few sources for this collection, most notably Scandinavian and modern retro styles.

The Scandinavian furniture style has minimalist characteristics and a clean, light design that blends functionality with visual appeal.

Scandinavian design trends have played a large part in the inspiration behind a lot of the furniture in this collection, as well as the modern retro style that has seen a large increase in popularity in recent years.

How does a design go from an idea to the final product?

Pen sketches of various furniture including a bed and TV stand.

To start the design process off, I find it important to take my time researching and looking for inspiration, filling my head with ideas going into the ideation phase.

Here, I can quickly sketch out all those ideas generated from research and inspiration. This stage can take a while depending on how many iterations are needed.

The Sandhaven bed, for example, went through pages and pages of sketches before I was happy with it. Once I have a few different concepts for each piece of furniture, I create accurate digital models of them. This is great for highlighting flaws that you might not see on sketch work and narrowing down the list of concepts.

After running these concepts past the team, I made some final changes and passed them to our workshop to be made.

Can you talk us through some of your design choices and if there were any trends you followed for this season’s collection?

A dining room with a teal-coloured wall. On the wall, there are two decorative deer heads that are painted white with an ornate frame. In front of the wall, there is a wooden dining table with a vase containing dried plants. To the left of the table. there is a chair with a grey cushion. The floor has a bobbled rug. There are matching wooden benches on each side of the dining table.

The Sandyford range is heavily influenced by Scandinavian design trends and the new Sandyford Living and Dining collections are no different! While keeping them on-trend with what we’ve released previously, it was important to add new features to keep this range fresh.

Floating tabletops are a new addition to this range. These new tops remove any need for framing (which you’d usually see underneath a tabletop), keeping the table looking sleek and light.

What has been your favourite piece to design and see come to life?

An image of a modern bedroom with a large bed in the centre. The bed has a wooden frame and a slanted headboard. The bedding is in neutral colours with a patterned blanket. There is a bedside table on one side of the bed with a lamp. The room has grey walls with paneling on the wall behind the bed. There is a large window with long curtains on the right side of the image.

I loved designing the Sandhaven Bed Frame and Bedside Tables. I was determined to design a bed with a slanted headboard, and it went through many iterations to make it happen. All the time that went into getting it right only made me more excited to see it in the flesh, and it did not disappoint!

Which piece are you most proud of from this collection?

An image of a living room with a wooden TV stand. On the TV stand there is a TV, lamp and some decorative items. The wall behind the TV stand has a wallpaper with a forest design.

I’d say I’m most proud of the Sandyford TV Stand. I love the blend of contemporary style with retro design cues, and I think it’s come out beautifully.

What was the key theme behind the Autumn/ Winter 2023 collection?

There is a modern retro theme throughout this collection. This is most notable in the Sandyford TV Stand, with its clean, contemporary design mixed with 1970s design cues.

Our Autumn/Winter 2023 Collection- Available Now!

Ready to see what it’s all about? Our Autumn/ Winter 2023 collection is available now! Our team at Funky Chunky Furniture has poured a lot of love and dedication into this collection, bringing our customers high-quality wooden furniture that looks captivating inside the home.

We also have a carefully curated collection of new season accessories to accentuate your space. Get ready for the new season and treat yourself to quality pieces that last a lifetime.