INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – For centuries, the beautiful Sierra Nevada mountains and its stunning landscapes have inspired painters, sculptors, songwriters, and artists alike. It was no different for interior designer Bridget Giroux as she was designing five pieces of furniture.
After living in Chicago for over 13 years, eight of those years spent working under Holly Hunt, industry leader in interior design, Giroux then worked for a retail brand, developing textiles and wallpaper before she found herself making the big move to Tahoe with her husband.
“We were just feeling burnt out of city life,” said Giroux. “It was quite the life change from living in downtown Chicago to moving to Tahoe.” Giroux then saw the opportunity for an interior design studio in the area, and she seized it. “That’s when I pivoted from designing products interior designers were using to actually having my own firm.”
A family-owned and operated business, Giroux teamed up with her mom, Bridget Crowe, and the mother-daughter pair runs the Bridget Giroux Design firm while her dad, CFO, does the books and the business side.
Fast forward nearly five years, and Bridget Giroux Design has developed countless custom pieces, such as side tables, beds, and sofas – all while Giroux does what she loves to do most, create products. Most recently, they have turned their custom pieces into a collection that can be used in their own projects while also providing collection pieces to other interior designers.
The design studio’s newest capsule features five distinct silhouettes, or styles, of side and drink tables. All are handcrafted in collaboration with a Reno-based woodworker and a Truckee-based metalsmith. Influenced by the beauty found in Tahoe’s nature, the collection’s designs reflect five years worth of inspiration living year-round in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
“I think as an artist, for me it was an opportunity to go inward, really hone my craft and figure out what’s important to me,” said Giroux as she touched on the slower, quieter pace of life in a place like Lake Tahoe.
All of the wood is reclaimed from the Sierra Nevadas with an emphasis on the Tahoe National Forest. The pieces are hand-carved, hand-shaped, hand-whittled, and hand-lathed.
The five styles are:
Zephyr Side Table
“Inspired by stacked Tahoe shoreline stones, this sculptural table pairs shou sugi ban–charred reclaimed pine with blackened steel and a redwood top finished with a brass bowtie inlay.”
The idea for the “Zephyr” design came to Giroux as she was sitting on a beach in Incline with her toddler, stacking rocks. The metal base was manufactured in Truckee, followed by abstract rock shapes created by Giroux’s Reno-based woodworker. The shapes were stacked onto a metal rod welded into the base.
“We did this unusually shaped top to top it off,” said Giroux. The wood, sugarpine and redwood, is charred with a technique called Shou Sugi Ban which consists of thoughtfully burning the wood to create a patina which also helps to emphasize the grain of the wood.
Tallac Side Table
“The Tallac Side Table features a carved walnut top and hand-whittled juniper legs from the Eastern Sierra, secured with brass wedges.”
After Giroux acquired a vintage, three-legged stool on her travels last year, she fell in love with the idea of a three-legged stool. “It had this nod to yesteryear in a way,” she said. Built with beautiful juniper branches, this stool highlights the charming, rustic nature of Tahoe’s high alpine forests.
Carson Side Table
“Made from wood sourced near Sierraville, this charred pine side table has beautifully hand carved legs and a dramatic, deeply textured shou sugi ban finish, accented by a signature brass bowtie inlay.”
“To me, the shou sugi ban technique speaks really profoundly to this region. When you’re driving down Mt. Rose, you can’t ignore the scars that we’ve had from past fires, and living with that is a very prominent reality.”
Rubicon Side Table
“A sculptural reclaimed pine stump from the Tahoe National Forest, hand-carved to evoke the movement of wind and water and finished with a brass bowtie inlay and discreet metal casters.”
Martis Drink Table
“Featuring a hand-turned walnut burl base sourced from a historic Yosemite orchard, the Martis Drink Table pairs richly figured wood with a hand- hammered steel stem and a live-edge English walnut top.”
Inspiration for this piece came to her as she was looking for her own drink table and struggled to find one she really liked.
“We decided to launch with these five pieces because to us, it’s an amuse-bouche, a tasting of what’s to come on a bigger scale, but I think the side and drink tables are a nice category because you can always find a spot for them in your home,” said Giroux. “Every little detail, not only in the silhouettes but also the way that we approach how we treated the wood, was very much inspired by experiencing the land here.”
Pieces in this collection range from $2000 to $5000, and offer a unique quality and style unlike anything else, blending functionality and collectible design. “When you experience these pieces first-hand, they have such a good energy to them. The wood is so beautiful and you can feel the hours they were carved.”
Giroux’s designs are also made with sustainability in mind as she touched on the rising numbers of mass-produced and cheaply-made furniture finding their way into landfills, taking up 12.1 million tons of Municipal Solid Waste, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
“For me, it’s not really about the money. If I can encourage one person to find a badass, vintage sofa on Craigslist for free, send it to the local upholstery shop and spend $2000 to have this incredible piece that no one else is going to have – if I can influence them to do that versus buying another mass-produced piece that in a few years is going to be in the landfill, I would. That to me is what it’s all about.”
To view the collection, make an appointment with Bridget Giroux Design by emailing bridget@bridgetgiroux.com, or calling (415) 710-7014. Deliveries to anywhere in the Tahoe Basin are free.
Bridget Giroux Design is located at 907 Tahoe Blvd, Suite 12 in Incline Village, Nev.
