The Quatrefoil

“The Quatrefoil” is a classical gothic architectural element. On our honeymoon in Ireland, we stopped at an abandoned chapel that had a large quatrefoil window and the image has stayed with me since. I use the motif in borders and motifs in my furniture. It is such a centering and strong shape, that I wanted to make a piece where the quatrefoil stood alone in its own beauty. The rusted tin barn roofing gives the illusion from a short distance of a very heavy solid casting of iron. It is amazing to me that a classic gothic window could be made out of what people discarded as useless and unwanted.

Beau Lyday and his wife Brenda have lived in a restored 1840s farmstead in North Carolina for the past five years.They have side-by-side studios in an old store on the property. Beau was born in Athens, GA and lived on a farm nearby before the family moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. Under his father’s guidance, he made his first piece of furniture when he was six and has been making furniture ever since.  After 35 years working in the furniture industry, he has moved on to making his own unique furniture using reclaimed materials from barns he deconstructs.  His work celebrates the age, texture, and character of wood and metal with clean designs and old craftsmanship to create furniture that harkens to the past, but is made for the present. Lyday says, “While I see myself as a furniture maker, sometimes an idea transcends function and becomes sculpture. That is exciting and truly rewarding.”

‍