The Piet Bench started out as an idea to fill some space in my empty apartment. Like a lot of people these days, I have been moving from place to place for years (most recently from Chicago to San Francisco), and space has always been an issue. Beyond that I can't remember the last time I was allowed to put holes in the walls of my temporary dwelling. Really I just wanted something neat, minimal, and a little unique. To me this meant a valet; a place to take off my boots and hang the coat that I use daily.
After many trips around the idea (in terms of real world costs and assembly) it began to make more sense to move towards a modular construction. The original idea revolved heavily around messy and redundant tubing, as well as awkward brackets. This was eliminated in favor of several semi-independent components connected via through-bolts.
The idea began to come together, getting more and more complicated, and yet, somehow becoming clearer.
For a modular unit to work these days there have to be options and attachments. Adding parts to a center post would have been ungainly after about two or three items. With the addition of spacers between the legs of each part, the monolithic connection point is eased.