The Birdcage

One of the most sought over areas at the races is known as the birdcage. It is the elaborate section of marques reserved for celebrities and VIP’s which is always a spectacular display of wealth, beauty and fashion in the most theatrical setting.

Cage Archibird by French designer Gregoire de Lafforest is a design that displays the same essence of wonder and awe. It is a birdcage built into an oak table which has cloche like glass domes at the top. It is a stunning design, which photographs beautifully. It is very minimal in its design, the simple oak table coupled with the system of tension cables, the white of the birdcage interior and the internal metal tree all combine to create a stylish, sleek design.

I must say though, as spectacular as this design is, I’m not too convinced that it is that functional. If you were to use it as a cage for real birds would you use the table for any other reason? And how do you clean the cage and the tree? I can’t imagine that pure white interior looking so great covered with a couple of days worth of droppings! But then I have never been such a fan of containing animals so perhaps I am just biased…

Perhaps a better idea would be to treat this piece as more of a sculpture, and fill with fake birds or something of the like, so it remains spotless and pristine and beautifully decorative. What do you think?