Northern California–based designer Hanneke Lourens has never shied away from embedding cultural narratives in her work – like her Leftover Bench, inspired by South Africa’s culture of fostering community through milk crates and stacked cinder blocks. With her new Barred Collection, she turns another unlikely source of inspiration – the stainless steel security bars bolted to windows and doors across her homeland – into sculptural furniture. “I certainly don’t want to make light of the need for security bars, but being South African is such a big part of my identity that I’m unable to escape it in my work,” she explains. Made by hand in California, the four-piece series reframes these utilitarian details in a neutral – even elevated – light, opening a dialogue about South Africa’s vulnerability and strength.
The idea for the collection came during her last visit to South Africa, a place Lourens continues to draw energy from. “I get so much creative energy when I visit South Africa, and the last time I went home was no different,” she shares. “In pretty much every type of neighborhood across the country, you’ll see these striking bars added as security measures to windows and doors.” While the presence of the bars signals an elevated crime rate, Lourens looks at them objectively. “They can almost be seen as the jewelry of a building. Sometimes curvy and ornate, other times linear and stark, they provide an extra layer of decoration to every facade.”
From every angle, the Barred Collection is defined by bold contrasts. Each piece feels Brutalist in character, with thick column legs that ground the forms and reveal their timber end grain at the top. The legs are joined with traditional woodworking techniques and reinforced by stainless steel bars, whose cool sheen provides a sharp counterpoint to the warmth of the wood. Echoing the rudimentary security bars Lourens saw on her trip, the steel elements are attached with simple tabs and screws. Yet each piece uses the metal differently, creating variety and rhythm across the collection.
The Barred Chair employs a cubed steel grid as an angled backrest, while the Barred Side Table, crafted from ash wood, connects its four oversized legs with linear bars.
From salvaged redwood in a previous life as the corner post of a house, the Barred Coffee Table takes form and is bound with ladder-like steel bars on two sides, giving it a chunky, grounded presence. Finally, the Barred Bench incorporates a grid below its seat, adding both structural strength and a second surface for storage.
Although the inspiration behind the collection may feel solemn, Lourens sees value in that discomfort. “When I’m inspired by something that brings up discomfort, I don’t necessarily see it as a negative. I’m always fascinated by the off-limits and the forgotten, so if this collection is making us ask questions, I see it as a win.”
To learn more about the Barred Collection by Hanneke Lourens, please visit hannekelourens.com.
Photography by Hubbard M. Jones.