Today many brands are making furniture from reclaimed wood. But at Kozhikode-based firm Smaram, the terms ‘traditional craftsmanship’ and ‘timeless pieces’ are given importance. Word ‘smaram‘ in Malayalam means memory (whereas ‘Maram‘ means wood) and the team pays homage to the heritage and lived-in feel of old wood through the furniture they create.
bench and a story
Launched by Stapati, an architecture firm founded by architect Tony Joseph in Kozhikode four years ago, Smaram is promoting the joy of working with reclaimed wood and salvaged materials. Its streamlined range of furniture, which includes compact benches, cots, tables and chests of drawers, is distinctive and experimental. Being architects, the lead designers of Smaram, while documenting ancient houses in Kerala, saw the possibility of reusing wood in furniture. “Most of the wood used for our furniture is over 100 years old. “The idea is to minimize the need for new raw materials by making maximum use of the materials that are around us,” says Akshay Salil, architect and designer at Smaaram.
‘Scratches have their own character’
The current collection of Smaram has been made from wood recovered from Haripad in Alappuzha and an old mansion in Pala in Kottayam. In both cases, the wood was carefully destroyed by skilled workers.
Each piece comes with a story and the design allows the wood to narrate it, albeit set in a different context. For example, the Shayya, a 6 feet-8 inches x 5 feet-5 inches wide cot, is a contemporary take on the traditional Kerala style of furniture. A headboard made from the ceiling of a grand old house in Kerala has been created from wood treated in plant emulsion. Placed edge to edge, the vintage designs on the rafters bring back the essence of the traditional Kerala house. Similarly, the Saw Chest of Drawers standing on powder coated metal legs gives a modern spin to the traditional grain storage system.
The tables, benches and storage solutions in the collection were all part of a house’s pillars, beams, beadings, doors or ceiling. And that’s what makes it unique, says Salil. He adds, “Old wood may require basic treatment to extend its life, but the advantage it has over new wood is that it has been naturally aged over years.”
While in some cases, parts of the wood may have cracked, or chipped, Smaram interprets these defects as a function of the character of the material. The design evolves according to the nature of the material. Some wood can also be turned into decorative items, says Salil.
Smaram has a team of skilled and experienced carpenters, who are familiar with the local varieties of trees like jackfruit, mango, teak, venga (Indian kino tree). “Working with the wood of these trees requires a certain level of expertise,” says Salil.
where old meets new
Wood is not the only material that has come into the category of furniture. The old and the new are balanced by combining modern materials like glass and steel with wood. For example, the dining table, Dining, rests on transparent acrylic legs. The Coffee Table Yuz, constructed in a steel framework, comes with movable wooden sections that can be removed or added to suit the design sensibilities of the user. The age marks on the wood make each piece unique, and thanks to Instagram, Smaram has many buyers for them. The products cost more than ₹37,000.
published – January 04, 2025 03:39 PM IST
