Part of the RISD 2023 student show, Hawser Bed by Louis Cohen pays tribute to the simple beauty of wood.

Perfectly balanced, enchantingly symmetrical, and sinuously shaped, Hawser Bed is a study in quiet.

Crafted of Sapele and papercord and finished with hard oil, Hawser Bed has no hard angles. As Cohen writes, “Roots slide out of the ground and meld together to form a cradle.”

Louis Cohen is a designer after my own heart. His furniture is philosophical and elemental, paying tribute to the great Scandinavian masters.

I can almost envision the tree that gave way to his Hawser Bed, with all its roots diving deep into the soil and its branches reaching up to the firmament.