Robin Boyd is best known as an iconic Australian architect, but he was also a talented furniture designer, a prolific writer and critic.
Boyd’s own house in Walsh Street, South Yarra (which we have featured here) was a project he designed for his own family, and a space were he also experimented with his own furniture designs. The house was (and still is!) furnished with key pieces designed by Boyd: two sofas, a dining table, two side tables, a sideboard, and a daybed. Each piece was designed to be understated, streamlined and functional, with everyday use in mind.
The Walsh Street House, as it is known, is now operated as a museum house by The Robin Boyd Foundation, and is almost entirely furnished as it was when Boyd lived there with his family.
It was during a personal visit to the Walsh Street house four years ago, that Melbourne furniture distributor Erna Walsh of KFive + Kinnarps was inspired to make Boyd’s furniture designs available once more.
‘For the last 23 years I have been working in the furniture industry, working with architects and designers on commercial and residential projects,’ says Erna. ‘Upon visiting the Walsh St house I was taken by the furniture – I asked Tony Lee (from The Robin Boyd Foundation) whose furniture was in the house and he informed me that it was Robin’s very own. From there the idea for The Boyd Collection was born.’
This month, KFive + Kinnarps has released The Boyd Collection: a sofa, dining table, coffee table and a chair originally designed by Robin Boyd, and now produced once more in Melbourne, to the same original specifications.
‘Manufactured in Melbourne, each piece has been faithfully reproduced to the same specifications, materials and functional solutions of Boyd’s originals,’ Erna explains. ‘This has been a wonderful opportunity to collaborate and support the Robin Boyd Foundation and legacy.’
The Boyd Collection is designed for a great variety of uses, from commercial foyers, to residential interiors. Looking ahead, KFive + Kinnarps are already planning the followup collection, which will launch in 2019, marking 100 years of Robin Boyd’s Life. (Don’t worry, when the time comes, we’ll remind you!).
View The Boyd Collection online, or by appointment.
