bokoshoko

The mundane cooker hood, another of those necessary items in any kitchen. The challenge is how to make it something special; not to hide it but instead be bold, show it off and make it a feature.

For this project we combined some of the classic “yellow” metals; brass, aluminium bronze and phosphor bronze. Eschewing the over polished for a natural look that will patina over time.

Then we added a show-stopping industrial glass shade - 30kg of fluted glass lit from within by a hidden halo of LEDs.

Of course the extractor had to actually work so we created a custom grease filter and included at the bottom of it LED task lighting. The extractor ductwork was exposed and caged within solid brass drop rods before exiting to an externally mounted fan.

The final addition was bespoke switching which you can see more about in our vs Buster and Punch gallery.

You can (and should) see pictures of it in context at the awesome Suszi Saunders’ Instagram. Suszi has a great sense for colour, texture and is exactly the kind of client we love to work with.

Buster and Punch purveyors of fine handles, lighting and electrical items. This is a company that recognises the inherent attraction of raw materials and rise against the dull, unimaginative, bland landscape of these necessities. In other words they’re very much our kind of people.

When asked to create surface mounting switches for another project and taking account of the client’s fondness for Buster and Punch we designed these unique switches.

Using the knurled brass switch modules from Buster and Punch we then machined solid brass into this unique take on the standard switch.

With additional detailing that included a bespoke mounting plate, brass conduit and a minimalist ceiling rose this was a great example of how even the ordinary can be made special.

Every kitchen needs them, the humble electric socket. The challenge is lack of choice, do you go go for dependable white, so last year stainless, up to the minute matte?

Even when you do decide there’s no mistaking them for what they are. The function is ever present and drives form in a way which is not always the best.

In this project we created 5 “no-show” sockets, each socket has a unique, removable top that crucially can be replaced even when the appliance is plugged in. The result is functional and a design statement.

These sockets are in aluminium with a brushed finished and they’re fitted to standard back boxes and use a standard, certified, 3 pin module. Safe, practical but also great to look at

The challenge here was to take an existing industrial table with space for only 2 and somehow make it a comfortable space for four.

Combining French oak with Manchester cast iron we were able to increase the table to create a generous space that did not overwhelm the room.

As with most things the devil was in the detail, or in this case the details…

Inlaid copper bands in the cast iron top, inset copper plates in the French oak with blackened bolts, exploded mortise and tenon joints filled with copper bars and oak selected especially for its figuring used to fill around the contours of the industrial table

Christofle Mood in Rose Gold, Marimekko tableware (various), Timothy Oulton Mimi dining chairs in destroyed raw quilted leather, vintage Singer stools, lighting by bokoshoko

Something a little different - fauxcoco vs French Fashion. When you’re asked to do something different with the cliche of the large mirror on the wall.

Here we took a fairly standard mirror, gave it a touch of haute couture madness and then expressed rather than hid the way in which the mirror is hung.

Ok it’s no use for checking your hair but it’s certainly a different way of using playing cards

It’s the little things…

Take a cliche; the pendant light hung low over the dining table but do something “other” with it; In this case a huge industrial light more commonly found in the rafters of warehouses

To introduce a certain domesticity the light body was plated in a distressed copper finish, that hardware replaced with gloss black fittings and the light provided by a squirrel cage build creating a stunning effect when viewed from below

The trick was also in how this 35kg light is seemingly suspended from a simple braided rope attached to a minimalist ceiling rose in matching, although solid, copper