Neptune furniture takes cues from past masters and re-interprets them for modern living. The enduring links? Quality materials, refined design and smart engineering, as co-founder John Sims-Hilditch tells editor Suzanne Imre.
For a company that first made its name in garden furniture, durability and timelessness were always going to sit at the heart of the business. ‘When we started designing kitchen cabinetry and furniture, we had a small collection, so pieces were pared back and simple, influenced by the textures and colours of the natural world and inspired by historic styles such as Georgian and Shaker,’ says John Sims-Hilditch, co-founder of Neptune. ‘Our aesthetic today is richer and more layered but underneath, we are still true to that timeless, pared back look, we’ve just built on the core.’
Aesthetically, certain periods of great craftsmanship have influenced Neptune’s design heritage. The Georgian appreciation of balance and application of the golden ratio of proportion regularly feeds into the contemporary designs, but the simplicity of Shaker lines and the artisan qualities of the Arts and Crafts Movement are also visible through the collections. The Suffolk kitchen cabinetry is a testament to the pared back Shaker style, while the Wycombe rush-seating collection nods to the materiality and craftsmanship of Arts and Crafts.
Materiality impacts every aspect of Neptune’s designs today. According to John, understanding wood is the first lesson we should learn from past masters. ‘Previously, furniture makers had time to allow the wood they were working with to settle into its cut state. Today life is faster, but it is still important to understand how different woods perform. From that knowledge, comes a better understanding of the design and engineering possibilities, so, for example, we use smooth tulipwood for our painted furniture and solid, grained oak for exposed pieces.’
His considered approach also explains why the business never uses materials such as MDF or chipboard in its cabinetry or furniture. Neptune is committed to making furniture fit to last one hundred years and such materials don’t have the required longevity. ‘They are not resilient enough for long lasting jointing techniques,’ adds John, pointing out the importance of combining crafted, heritage joinery, such as dovetail joints on furniture and butt hinges on kitchen cabinetry, with modern engineering solutions, even when they are not the quick-fix option. ‘Butt hinges require a much higher level of precision fitting but are far more elegant and reliable than many modern kitchen hinges.’
When the new, oak Farlow sideboard, cabinet and dresser (complete with traditional mortise and tenon joinery on the legs) were at concept stage, it was to a Neptune icon, the classic five-foot Chichester dresser, that the design team turned first. ‘The original dresser encapsulates the principles for which Neptune stands,’ explains John, ‘it is elegantly proportioned, functions well and is durable. And it is a chameleon in that you can make it whatever you want by changing its colour or texture or hardware. You can even move it easily as we designed it with a removable cornice top. It is an extra detail that you might not often need but it means the piece will last longer.’
The Farlow collection, too, is helpfully flexible as our lives and needs evolve. The three designs mean the storage systems can be used in a multitude of ways, from low (the sideboard), to medium (the cabinet), to high (the dresser, which combines the sideboard and the cabinet). ‘The Farlow is a modern version of the traditional dresser in some ways thanks to its versatility,’ says John, ‘with the addition of beautifully curved edges that look to twentieth century design, ultimately creating a timeless piece of furniture.’
