The Eye

This Watercolor-Inspired, Hand-Painted Wood Furniture Is Vibrant and Dreamy

A watercolor-tinted room divider screen from German designer Meike Harde, who is inspired by German Expressionist painting techniques.

Courtesy of Meike Harde/Karolina Suflida

German designer Meike Harde makes poetic objects and furniture, such as a clock that tells time with a ballerina’s limbs or lightweight metal clothing storage covered in soft, dreamy fabrics.

Recently featured in a satellite showcase for emerging talent at the Milan Furniture Fair, her new series, Wooden Aquarelle, is inspired by the fluid pigments of watercolors and techniques used by German Expressionist painters August Macke and Emil Nolde.

A set of watercolor-tinted nesting tables from Meike Harde.

 

Courtesy of Meike Harde/Karolina Suflida

Harde clamps birchwood sheets to a waterproof frame, washing the wooden surfaces with pigmented water that soaks and tints the wood. The pigmented water creates an effect she likens to “translucent ink.”

Birchwood sheets are placed on a frame then tinted with pigmented water to produce random, unique effects on each piece.

Courtesy of Meike Harde/Karolina Suflida

The water evaporates within a few hours to leave a singular pattern of streaks, smudges, and color variations, each sheet resembling an abstract watercolor painting. Once it’s completely dry, she seals the wood with a transparent finish.

Close-ups of the watercolor-tinted wood.

 

Courtesy of Meike Harde/Karolina Suflida

Then she turns the painted panels into furniture-like dining or nesting tables and room divider screens. Harde says that her technique allows for the mass production of individually unique pieces.

Dining table made from pigmented wood.  

 

Courtesy of Meike Harde/Karolina Suflida

Harde notes that the boards can also be used as wall panels or floor tiles to add a fresh, artistic flourish to interiors.

The tinted birchwood boards can also be used as flooring or wall panels.

 

Courtesy of Meike Harde/Karolina Suflida