Furniture: Dakota Jackson

"I’ve always thought of desks as big pieces of real estate," says furniture designer Dakota Jackson. "They are about expanse and being able to accommodate a range of activities without becoming cluttered or feeling cramped." His latest desk, Maverick, is a spacious 90-inch-by-40-inch piece that appears light and elegant, yet still gives the individual sitting behind it a clear sense of being in control. "It’s for the unbranded calf," he says. "Someone who thinks for himself."

The Maverick desk, which starts at $17,093, features slim legs of polished steel that support a surface of walnut and English sycamore with leather inlay. Two sycamore drawers appear to float within the piece. The subtle variation of materials and the attention to detail that define this desk appear in all of Jackson’s furnishings, whether the elements are immediately apparent or not. For instance, the leather-clad Iko sofa (starting at $18,140 for a sectional) has a poplar frame that is wrapped in acrylic webbing and burlap and padded with foams of varying densities, goose down, and feathers. Iko’s seat is higher than those of many contemporary sofas; its back is curved slightly to conform to the body. The design allows a person to sit upright, yet still feel relaxed without sinking in too much. "We went through several prototypes before we came to the right dimensions," Jackson says. "There’s no universal body type, and we wanted everyone to be comfortable." As he does with all of his seating pieces, Jackson designed Iko to feel comfortable even when an individual sits on it for an hour or more. Furthermore, he tried to anticipate how the sofa might feel after having been used for several years. To this end, Jackson selected a particular type of leather that is soft and supple, yet durable enough to remain taut over time. He says, "Our pieces are engineered as much as they are designed."