Spaeth Hill wants you to start laughing at interior design. Not in a joking matter, but to have real, genuine fun with designing your home and office spaces, while keeping modern elements and functionality in mind. That’s the company’s goal with its inaugural furniture line, Biscuit.
Spaeth Hill, a design agency located in Old Town Alexandria, was co-founded by Nathan Hill and Jill Spaeth in 2018—“We met through AIGA DC, the professional association for design,” Spaeth says—and focuses on branding, graphic design, interior design, websites and more for its clients. Now, the company is adding Biscuit to its plate.
“The first piece in our furniture line is the Biscuit, which was really born out of necessity,” says Hill. “Every inch of our studio space in Old Town was designed by us, and it was natural for us to design a functional working desk.”
Not just the title of Spaeth Hill’s inaugural furniture line, Biscuit is also the name of the line’s first product: a functional, customized desk featuring fun elements. Inspired by Playskool building blocks, the stars of the desk’s solid ashwood design are the multicolored, wide, circular legs. “With the legs, we wanted to show that we were playing with form,” Hill says. “The Biscuit is the idea of playing with shape, and it’s also tapping into that inner child. We also wanted it to be sophisticated and modern.”
The Biscuit’s double-layered desktop makes organizing easy. “We wanted to make sure that there was a stowaway compartment, so that you could hide your keyboard and your mouse when you were done for the day,” Hill says. There’s also a bookshelf and a pre-drilled cable managing grommet. Plus, the desk’s width is a feature in itself. “We designed it so that you could fit a monitor and anything else you need,” Spaeth says.
The Biscuit—the name comes from the shape of the desk’s legs, which resemble tea biscuits from the United Kingdom—is fabricated in Alexandria by Trey Jones Studio, a wood workshop based in DC. And Spaeth Hill’s furniture line isn’t stopping there. Still in early development, Spaeth and Hill hope to add a lamp and side table to the line.
The duo is also launching a culinary-themed furnishings line with three collectible side tables, featuring a cracked egg, an avocado and an oyster as the tables’ tops, which are set to be available this fall. “It’s showing off a little bit of humor,” Spaeth says. “Yeah, again, it’s just fun,” Hill adds. “I imagine somebody purchasing a fine, Italian-made couch, and then on the side you have a cracked egg table.” Hopefully, it makes you crack a smile, too. // 908 King St., Suite 300, Alexandria; products available directly through Spaeth Hill, pricing available upon request
This post originally appeared in our September 2019 print issue. For more Home & Design content, subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
