Studio Taf introduces a new collection for String Furniture

7 August 2024

Pragmatic, immediate, informal: the TAF studio‘s approach to the project starts from a concrete experience and gets straight to the point. Along the way, it integrates unexpected chromatic suggestions that warm up and make more familiar a design that still retains its Scandinavian imprint.

An imprint that is expressed in precise and measured proportions, in the logic that prevails over decoration and in the concrete intention of solving an everyday problem through a piece of furniture or an accessory. Founded by Swedish architects Gabriella Lenke and Mattias Ståhlbom, the studio is based in Stockholm but collaborates on the international scene from which, upon returning, it is inspired. Among the latest projects presented, the

Relief collection for String Furniture is very interesting: the company has a very specific vocation and identity which are expressed in the intention to organize the space in a pragmatic and effective way, without sacrificing style.

String’s modular systems are now iconic and recognizable, thanks to the proportions and recurring shapes that Lenke and Ståhlbom also took inspiration from for this collection, presented on the latest edition of 3 Days of Design Copenhagen.

Relief is a modular system composed of a chest of drawers and a clothes hanger bar in different sizes which can be used individually or in compositions of several elements for large environments. The materials used are wood and MDF and the designers wanted to work to also make the rear part beautiful to look at, precisely to facilitate the positioning of various elements.

To the discreet elegance of the system, suitable for different rooms of the house, is added the possibility of choosing between colors with different profiles: from pure white to bold black, passing through an intense and playful orange, as Gabriella Lenke explains.

What are the distinctive features of this collection?

It’s called Relief and we worked hard on all the edges of the chest of drawers to make it truly freestanding. It can be oriented in all directions, furthermore, from the beginning we have pursued the objective of facilitating the transport of these elements by seeking the possibility of inserting them in a flat pack that is not excessively heavy. As a result, the overall size is small enough to be easily transported but large enough to hold a wardrobe’s items.

What colors and materials are offered?

The main material is MDF and there are four colors available plus an ash veneer finish, so five finishes in total. Three different lengths and three different heights and in this way, they can be combined to create a customized configuration. Another configurable element is the base for which you can choose between feet and socket and the latter can be had in different sizes so as to run along multiple modules.

Overall, it was designed to have a low profile, it’s meant for the bedroom so we wanted it to be discreet. But you can still choose the orange version to give it more personality. Another feature we wanted is monochrome: the inside and outside of the drawers are entirely painted in the same color because the inside is just as important as the outside for the overall experience of use.

In which environments can we imagine it other than the bedroom?

It is a chest of drawers, so we tend to think of it in a bedroom, but in the lower version, for example, it is perfect for an entrance, in a living room. Clearly these are drawers, and you can decide to use them to store everything you want but it is not designed for very tall configurations.

About the collaboration with String: how did it start and what do you appreciate most about the company?

It started with the Museum collection consisting of shelves, side table and candle holder. The brand is very focused on storage so when they approached us asking for a storage system for the bedroom because they didn’t have any, we talked about it a lot and thought about combining two aspects. On the one hand, create a system for clean clothes and therefore the drawers, on the other hand, also offer a support for the clothes to be put back the next day and therefore the clothes hanger bar.

In general, what is the most important feature of Scandinavian design?

There are differences within the various Scandinavian realities but as a Swedish I can say that our approach is very functional while retaining a twist, something recognizable and understandable. Small details that make the design functional but also captivating and with a recurrent use of wood, since in Sweden there is a great abundance of this material.

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