Barir Mango Wood Storage Bench - Chocolate Brown

A storage bench 120cm wide, 35cm deep and 45cm high, in mango wood with an upholstered top. The top is a handwoven kilim, padded and fixed down over the frame, worked in ochre, rust and a faded red on a natural ground in a run of geometric bands. Below it two drawers take up the width of the bench, each pulled by a slim wooden bar fixed across the front. The wood is finished in a deep chocolate brown, with the grain and the marks of the saw still showing through it.

At 45cm it is seat height, which is what puts it at the end of a bed or inside a front door. It is only 35cm deep, so it stands against a hallway wall without narrowing the way past, and 120cm long takes two people sitting or a bag and a pair of boots. The two drawers hold what a hallway collects: gloves, leads, keys. It is rated to 180kg.

The frame is mango wood and the top is a jute kilim woven on a traditional handloom, so the tone varies from piece to piece and no two benches carry the same run of colour. The fabric is upholstered on by hand. It weighs 16.2kg. The Barir range also holds a kilim-covered pouf.

How many drawers does it have?

Two, taking up the width of the bench.

How much weight will it take?

180kg.

What is the top covered in?

A handwoven jute kilim in ochre, rust and faded red on a natural ground. Each one is woven on a handloom, so the colour runs differently across every bench.

How big is it?

120cm wide, 35cm deep and 45cm high.

How do I look after it?

Vacuum or brush the fabric regularly to lift surface dust, but never with a rotating vacuum head, which damages the fibres. Deal with small spills on the spot: lift the liquid with an absorbent tissue, then blot with a sponge or a folded towel wrung out in lukewarm water, and dry the patch with warm air from a hair dryer so it does not water-mark. Larger stains want a professional. Keep it out of direct sunlight, which fades natural dyes and yarns.