Joseph Degeling, The Versailles Desk (FURNITURE 2025)

Photos:

Joseph Degeling

Video tour:

https://youtu.be/6vZf3yp6I0c

Country

Australia

The “Versailles desk” is a piece of furniture I recently crafted whilst on long service leave from my day to day job as a psychologist. The name of this desk is inspired by the parquetry pattern of the desk top - which is known as the versailles pattern. The inspiration to build this desk was born both out of necessity - I work a lot from my home office - but also out of a desire to create a nice piece of furniture that is, a little selfishly, just for me. As an amateur woodworker, I aim for simple and clean designs that have a sophisticated look while also being functional and fit for everyday use. I aim to use as few hardware fixings as possible, relying on more traditional joinery in my build process (where possible and my skills permit!). The desk is constructed using rescued, reused and recycled timber. The bulk of the desk is made from tallowwood decking offcuts that I was lucky to rescue from the offcuts bin at my local hardware store. The darker border around the parquetry pattern is Tasmanian Blackwood that was recycled from my parents old kitchen cabinet doors. The plywood substructure/base that the parquetry pattern is attached to, and also the bases for the drawers, is marine grade ply I rescued from a neighbours junk pile. Sliding dovetails form the main joinery method used in the construction of the desk base. The table top is constructed using reinforced mitred corners, and a half lap dovetail joint for the central cross timber. The desk is finished with Cabot’s interior stain and Cabot’s cabothane clear oil based varnish.

Images have been resized for web display, which may cause some loss of image quality. Note: Original high-resolution images are used for judging.