Conran had a strong idea of what he wanted from the beginning, although he left Sebastian Cox to develop the detail – including a secret drawer whose location he has not revealed. ‘Terence was quite prescriptive with the design,’ Cox said. ‘He gave me dimensions. He wanted a rail with a curtain. I wasn’t keen as I wanted it to be all in wood.’ 

Instead, Cox came up with the idea of curved screens that could open or close, made with woven red oak, a material particularly suited to the process, but not a timber that Terence Conran liked. Cox came up with a whitening finish to use on it, to change the appearance. As well as the technical property of the material, Cox was keen to use red oak and cherry because they are not fashionable in UK and some other markets, so are under exploited.