Earlier this week Alex took a trip to Kent Oak in Speldhurst, Tunbridge Wells to discuss Fuggles Beer Café,  Tonbridge furniture design for .  Rick built the bar at Fuggles first site in Tunbridge Wells so knew roughly what the plan is.

Rick’s workshop is like an Aladdin’s cave of woodworking tools and materials.  A room where designers dreams become reality.

Fuggles owner (Alex Greig) had specified the bar be visually identical to Tunbridge Wells, just adapted to suit the larger space available in Tonbridge.  It’s vital the furniture design includes enough shelf space for the large quantity of gins and whiskies on offer to be displayed.  Fuggles are renowned for their everchanging stock of beer and charcuterie, so incorporating an easily changeable menu is key.

The design consists of 8 equally sized worktop dressers which sit either side of a central, break fronted section which will house the 16 beer taps and drip trays.  Above this will be a beer wall to display the beers on offer.  The bar itself will be a 6 metre long section that runs parallel to the shelved dressers, a 90 degree turn at the end will join the bar and the back wall together.  This extra section of bar will provide extra seating and give a great viewpoint across the bar.

The plan for the Tonbridge furniture design is for it to be constructed using traditional cabinetmaking techniques, made using Tulipwood which will be primed and sprayed in Kent Oaks spray booths before being delivered to site for fitting and touch ups.  RAL6006 is the chosen colour, also known as military green.  The colour for the furniture was inspired by Little Greene’s – Invisible Green which has superb depth in natural light and works great with the chosen material palette.  These natural colours work superbly against the reclaimed iroko oak which will be used on the bar tops and tables.

Visuals and material palettes can be seen on the projects page under Fuggles Beer Café.