From the Field: Custom Backlit Onyx Furniture

What a great experience working with the design team at Hickok Cole to develop these custom backlit onyx ottoman tops! Designed specifically for a lobby space in downtown Washington, D.C., these movable ottoman sets were envisioned to have a glowing white onyx finish against a cubic wooden base. Creating custom furniture pieces is always refreshing for us, as the details at a smaller scale become an even more important.

Here’s a peek into the process:
Architectural Furniture Hand Rendering Ottoman Design Layout

With the ottoman design and layout nailed down, the team at Hickok Cole Architects selected our Ivory Vein Onyx to adorn the ottomans. This onyx variety was chosen for its clean veining and creamy white coloration. It was reinforced with glass backing and thinned down to provide higher translucency levels and increased durability for a commercial lobby.

Ivory Onyx Stone Slab

Controllable LED backlighting animates the onyx surface while giving it a whole other layer of variability.  When the backlighting is off or dimmed to a low level, the onyx appears cleanly modern. With warm LED backlighting, the onyx takes on a soft candlelit glow to provide ambiance for the lobby environment.

Backlit Ivory Onyx

White Veined Onyx Panels for Ottoman Fabrication

In a continuous flow of veins between the top pieces and edge pieces, the natural stone patterning wraps onto all faces.  Likewise, the lighting behind each face is controlled separately to account for natural variances in the stone formation.

Custom Backlit Onyx Furniture Design

Knife mitered edges accentuate the simple geometry of the ottoman design. The detailed layers of onyx, lighting, and fasteners to construct the ottomans were developed in conjunction with the furniture manufacturer, Asher Cole, who assembled the wooden bases with our onyx tops.

Onyx Furniture Ottoman Table with Backlighting

The ottomans are currently in the finishing stages by the furniture manufacturer and will soon be shipped to the job site.  We’ll see everything illuminated after the electrical hook up to our Infuse™ lighting control counterparts (which are waiting on site for the lovely onyx to arrive).  Stay tuned for more photos of these glowing onyx furniture pieces!

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UPDATE: Click here to see the illuminated ottomans!