Oak Inside – tea table

Painted oak furniture is a tradition of Hidelopen; a small city in Friesland. The city once had a strong connection to the sea and influences from afar can be traced in the colour and applied decoration that are characteristic of the historical furniture and interiors that were a starting point for the oak inside project.

Oak has an ability to turn blue after contact with iron. Meindertsma took advantage of this natural reaction to create patterns on a series of furniture. She applied batiq techniques (in a nod to the Chintz fabrics worn by the Hidelopen people) and added organic pigments. The cut-aways and exposure of the natural wood were a purposeful gesture by Meindertsma to celebrate the local oak wood used in this series.

Meindertsma used interior drawings by Hendrik Lap (born in 1824) as a reference and as inspiration – the Hindeloopen interiors he painted were already rare during his lifetime – and worked with the only company from the area that still works in this historic craft.