Pendú: The Welcome Home Shelf

An Organiser Shelf Designed by Renata Gutierrez and James Rowland

Pendú, designed by Renata Gutierrez and James Rowland, is a unique and innovative organiser shelf that simplifies your life. It was conceived as a "welcome home" shelf, designed to be placed by the front door where you can free yourself of all the various objects we carry around. This simple piece combines the functionality of a table, wall-mounted hooks, and a mirror, all in one compact design.

Underneath the shelf, there are two magnets for attaching keys and three hooks for bags or necklaces. The flat surface of the shelf can accommodate phones and wallets, and it also features two overlapping depressions for coins or other small loose items. Additionally, Pendú includes a mirror for any final checks when heading out of the door.

Pendú is handcrafted using solid hard woods, such as reclaimed ipê and garapeira. The hooks are made from discarded offcuts, and their unique "dovetail" shape allows them to be slid into the main body without the need for screws. The shelf is mounted on the wall via two keyhole slots, enabling easy attachment and removal while completely concealing the mountings.

With dimensions of 495mm width, 110mm depth, and 55mm height, Pendú is designed to be compact yet functional, making it suitable for households with limited space. Its efficiency and elegant design also make it suitable for any environment.

Being an item that gets used frequently, Pendú is designed to be simple and easy to use. It will generally be the first or last piece of furniture with which the user will interact upon arriving at or leaving the house.

The project was conceived and realized in Paraty, Brazil in 2016. The designers, Renata Gutierrez and James Rowland, aimed to combine a number of items into one simple and elegant piece. They recognized that many households have unnecessary furniture by the front entrance, consisting of a table, coat hooks, and a wall-mounted mirror. Pendú solves this problem by providing adequate space to store frequently used everyday items, while also offering extra storage for accumulating items.

The main challenge when designing Pendú was how to keep it small in size while still being able to hold a number of items. This was achieved by incorporating the hooks and magnets underneath and the depressions on the top surface. The result is that numerous everyday items can be stored on Pendú, each in its own place without interfering with one another.

Pendú was awarded the Iron A' Design Award in 2018. This prestigious award recognizes well-designed, practical, and innovative creations that meet professional and industrial requirements. Pendú's integration of industry best practices and competent technical characteristics contribute to a better world.

Photographer Phelipe Paranse captured all the images of Pendú in 2017.