Time will tell
Category: Furniture
Competitions: Home Competition 2026
Koen van Tuijl is a Dutch designer and furniture maker whose work explores the hidden potential of birch plywood. While the material is typically associated with speed, efficiency, and construction, he approaches it with patience, precision, and craftsmanship, transforming it into refined furniture with a distinctive visual language. After graduating as a furniture maker, Koen was told by industry professionals that his way of working could never become a viable business because each piece demanded too much time. Rather than compromising his process, he simply replied, “Time will tell.” That sentence became the foundation of his practice. His work is defined by geometric forms, sharp angles, and the expressive patterns created by the exposed layers of plywood. Every object is carefully built by hand, allowing the material's natural structure to become an essential part of the design rather than something to conceal. For Koen, every piece represents time made visible ,time invested in craftsmanship, curiosity, and the pursuit of beauty within an ordinary material. His work challenges conventional ideas of value by demonstrating that even the simplest construction material can become something exceptional when treated with care and dedication.
