09/03/2026
BUILT FOR THE ROOM. FINISHED FOR THE LIGHT.
For this private residence in Ottawa’s Rockcliffe Park, we worked with OFDG on a three-piece custom commission, developing each piece from their inspirations and specifically for the home.
Shown here is the 44” square coffee table, built in red oak and designed to solve for both scale and light.
The room called for a piece with enough presence to anchor it, but without feeling overly heavy. The generous square format provides that weight, while the open lower shelf and restrained base keep the form visually open.
The surface became the second part of the solution. The red oak was bandsawn wherever possible, then wire-brushed to open the grain further, oxidized, and finished with black oil. Rather than creating a flat dark surface, the process leaves ridges, recesses and irregularities that respond continuously to the changing natural light.
From across the room, the table reads as a strong, quiet architectural form. Up close, the saw marks, grain and evidence of making become much more visible.
Rockcliffe Park, a Heritage Conservation District known for its historic residences and distinctive architectural character, provided a fitting setting for a piece developed so specifically around material, proportion and light.
It’s the kind of work we especially enjoy with OFDG: taking the requirements of a particular room and resolving them through material, finish, construction and proportion.
Designed + manufactured in Hamilton by Hamilton Holmes
Interior design: OFDG O'KEEFE FIORENZA Design Group
Rockcliffe Park, Ottawa
