Great pieces don’t just happen; they are the culmination of many years of experimentation and practice. Much of what Craig Thibodeau has learned over a decade-and-a-half of professional furnituremaking is in his latest tour-de-force. He calls it simply, Art Deco Table with Trompe L’oeil Interior, and I love the understatement.

Although he has been building veneered furniture from the beginning and practicing marquetry almost as long, he says this is his first exploration into trompe l’oeil marquetry imagery. I especially admire the custom hardware he created to make the mechanics as seamless as the exquisite veneer work.

For Thibodeau’s engaging video tour of the piece, click here.

And here he is on how the piece came about: “The table commission began as a nice Deco style table without any of the extra details. To that base we added the two pop-out drink trays in maple and ebony with polished stainless steel inserts. We then began discussing what to do with the interior space of the central column. A variety of ideas were tossed about until the client settled on a trompe l’oeil (French for “fool the eye”) image hidden behind a secret door with a couple more secret areas hidden in the image.”

And check this out: “We worked out a system of embedded magnets that would hold pieces in place but also allow them to be opened with a special magnetic key. The door is held closed by four magnets and there are additional magnets buried inside the hidden drawer and the outside face of the secret door. We decided the special magnetic key should be hidden somewhere on the outside of the table so it could be accessed easily but not seen. The key itself has been veneered to match the surrounding wood and is spring loaded so a gentle push makes it pop out. It then can be used to open the main secret door and also to pull out the hidden drawer. The small door in the image leads to a small space with a polished floor and arched ceiling. The veneer for the walls and ceiling gradually change to darker colors as they go deeper into the cavity to increase the sense of depth.”

This is clearly a piece done without compromise, which is always a precious thing, but even more so in today’s corporate world. By the way, the table is 38″ wide by 19″ wide by 30″ high, and main wood species are pau ferro, quilted maple, Macassar ebony, and various marquetry woods. 

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