Mid-century modern Danish teak and I are on a break. A glimpse into our relationship thus far: MCM teak was my reliable, classic, my go-to — there for me for the big stuff like dining, office work, not to mention bedside. A part of me will always love Danish modern, but I just started seeing someone new... I can't stop thinking about wavy wood!
I guarantee you've seen wavy wood — lumber hewn into biomorphic shapes — lurking on your Instagram Explore page and linked in the newsletter your cool friend who lives downtown writes. Wavy wood has been making the rounds in mirrors, chairs, benches, room dividers, but especially in tables. More generally, organic shapes are everywhere right now, wood being just one raw material getting its groove on amongst blobby glassware, candles, cushions, plaster, and more.
How can I explain the allure of a wavy wood?
It's hard to deny the collective desire to return to nature, and more specifically, to the natural order of asymmetry. There's a soothing accord in structural curves wavy wood boasts, mimicking the flowing of water and the spirals of wood grain. Rounded edges satisfy our needs for softness, a tenderness with ourselves and each other after enduring a year that highlighted the harshest, most violent realities of our world. Emerging from our lodgings after a painful and isolating year inside, we are all craving connection to each other and our natural world. As we await the aid to end the pandemic globally, we can expect to see (and seek) more objects that cultivate nature's calm at home.
Wavy wood satisfies another key desire: a sense of play. Wacky, unexpected details like the curved edges of a table evoke a carefree vibe, an irreverence toward straight lines and narrow thinking. Blobs, squiggles, and scallops are youthful silhouettes that promote creativity and fun by omitting hard, geometric edges. A natural evolution of the maximalism, irony, and kitsch occupying our spaces in 2020, we continue to value expressive decor that makes us laugh and adds a touch of levity into our everyday lives.
TL;DR, wavy wood is funky, lighthearted, while also exuding groundedness. It's this duality that leads me to believe you can choose wavy wood for anywhere and anything you'd expect to be made of wood in your home and expect to make it last, regardless of the trend cycles. (I'll keep my eyes peeled for wavy wood sideboards to coincide with the 70s redux.)
The wavy wood trend duality, that of combining an earthbound drive and an airy irreverence, is what makes it so powerful and —I'm calling it— enduring. What do you think, will wood in organic forms reign supreme?
