• Rustic red painted wooden bookcase with asymmetrical stepped sections
  • A round area rug with a beige and sage green wavy pattern, styled in a mid-century modern living room setting with a wooden chair, shelving, and other decor.
  • Angled view showing the shallow shelves and substantial painted plinths
  • Front view of the scratch-built shelves with two lower and three taller compartments
  • A mid-century modern wooden bookcase with a warm reddish-brown finish, featuring three tiers of open shelving on the right and two cubby sections on the left, set against a plain off-white background.
  • A close-up of a red wooden shelving unit with open cubby compartments, photographed against a plain off-white background.
  • Close-up of the textured red paint with brush marks and surface irregularities
  • Detail of the rounded shelf edges and handmade wooden joints
  • Close-up of a reddish-brown wooden furniture corner showing the distressed wood grain and a seam on a patterned rug.
  • Close-up of a reddish-brown wooden furniture corner meeting a patterned gray and beige carpet.
  • Close-up of a reddish-brown wooden shelf or bookcase corner with visible wear, scratches, and small holes on the painted wood surface.
  • A close-up of a reddish-brown wooden board or furniture piece with visible wear, scratches, and a chipped area, placed over a patterned green rug.
  • - Stepped red painted shelves displayed with a carved wooden shell
1 16

Rustic Painted Shelves in Oxide Red

Rustic Painted Shelves in Oxide Red

£425.00
£425.00
Sale Sold out

Someone needed somewhere to put things, and made these. Quite what those things were is lost to history, but the stepped arrangement suggests a particular requirement: two compartments on one side, three on the other, each apparently sized with something in mind. Tools, tins, jars of screws, the small accumulated possessions of a person who never threw anything away because it might come in useful. It usually didn’t. The shelves did.

Scratch-built in wood, they have the directness of furniture made for a job. The lower section meets its taller neighbour in an abrupt step, while rounded shelf edges and substantial plinths give the whole piece a pleasing weight. Its asymmetry feels instinctive. Whatever practical problem prompted it has left behind a remarkably good silhouette.

Then there is the paint. A rich, earthy red that moves between brick, terracotta and darker oxblood tones as the light changes. Across the tops and shelf edges, the finish has thickness and texture: brush marks, ridges, small hollows and softened corners, with darker colour gathering around the joints. Successive coats have accumulated over the years, each apparently applied on the reasonable assumption that the previous one could stay where it was.

That built-up surface is much of its appeal. It lends depth to the simple construction and makes the colour feel embedded in the piece. The broad painted planes catch the light differently from the recesses, so even this fairly uncompromising red has considerable subtlety.

Now perfectly suited to books, ceramics, records of a manageable size, or the collected objects that deserve somewhere better than a windowsill. At just 24 cm deep, it sits close to the wall; the stepped tops offer two further surfaces for a lamp or a favourite sculpture. A piece with the air of having spent years being useful, and little inclination to stop.

Condition
Rustic vintage condition, with an uneven, layered paint surface, old marks, indentations and irregularities to the wood and construction. The texture of the finish is a defining part of its character. Please see the detailed photographs.

Dimensions
Length 151 cm × Depth 24 cm.
Overall height 85 cm; lower section height 68 cm.

Delivery
UK delivery via specialist courier—please contact us with your postcode for a quote; international shipping available—ask for a quote.
View full details

You may also like