PS-Car Tirol: a desk with presence for a luxury car showroom
How do you design a desk with presence for a car dealership, when high-value cars, personal advice and buying decisions all share the same room? In the showroom of PS-Car in Tyrol, the desk was conceived from the outset as a statement: a bespoke piece, inspired by the form of a sapphire. The result is a substantial executive desk that makes its presence felt without raising its voice.
At a glance
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Context
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The solution
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The result
A desk that creates presence the moment you walk in: substantial, calm, finely made. It reads as an object in the room, and at the same time supports consultations, contract signings and the daily flow of work in the showroom. |
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Details & presence in the room
Views from the showroom: a sculptural form, a substantial presence and details that are used every day.
Working life in a luxury car dealership
Daily life at PS-Car is made of consultations, valuations, contract conversations and personal exchange. Customers don’t “perch at the desk for a moment”. They make investment decisions here. The desk becomes the central place for trust, calm and clarity.
The wish for something of its own
The idea was clear from the start: no standard furniture, no classic office desk. Inspired by the form of a sapphire, the desk was to show independence and set itself clearly apart from the ordinary. Building it called for craft experience and precision in the engineering.
The decision, and the doubts that come with it
Before the build, the question wasn’t about design but about feasibility: can a form this striking be made stable, practical and fully functional? This is where the close exchange was decisive. Ideas were tested together, adjusted and translated into construction. With this visualisation for the customer, we could move into final planning:
The solution as a system
The desk doesn’t work through individual features but as one coordinated system: cables disappear, technology is built in, storage sits where it’s needed. So the top stays calm, even in the middle of a working day.
How it works day to day, and with customers
The desk was deliberately not designed for the owner alone. Customers take a seat, sign contracts and experience the quality of the material at first hand. The substantial feel, the calm form and the touch of the wood all support a sense of value and reassurance.
Who is this set-up for?
This set-up suits dealership owners, managing directors in luxury and sports car sales, and any working environment where customer contact, advice and investment decisions come together. The desk is not a piece of furniture in the background. It is part of the overall effect of the room.
The blueprint: seven principles for the executive desk in a showroom
1) The desk is part of the brand
In high-end retail, every piece of furniture speaks for the brand. If you sell quality, you have to show quality: in the top, in the material, in the workmanship.
2) Solid timber signals substance
Veneer looks interchangeable. Solid oak or walnut looks like it means it. Customers making investment decisions read the material, consciously or not.
3) Form follows function, but form stays visible
A form of its own (like the sapphire-inspired outline at PS-Car) turns the desk into an object. It reminds everyone that someone took design seriously.
4) Technology disappears
Cables, adapters, docking stations: all of it has to be there, and none of it may be seen. CableHIDE and CableSLOT take care of that.
5) Customers sit at the desk too
In a consultation the desk is shared. Both sides need space, eye contact and the right amount of distance. The desk becomes the negotiating table.
6) Order as a design element
A CenterDRAW pull-out tray keeps contracts, pens and notes within reach, without anything lying on the surface. Tidiness becomes a statement.
7) Consistency in the detail
Skimp on the chair, the floor or the light, and you destroy the effect. At this level it’s all or nothing. The desk sets the standard, and the rest has to follow.
FAQ: corner desks, bespoke pieces and customer consultations
Why a corner desk in a car dealership or showroom?
Why a bespoke piece rather than standard furniture?
What should I prepare for the planning?
Which EDELHOLZ model suits a car dealership or showroom?
Which woods suit a high-end showroom?
How is the technology built in out of sight?
How long does a bespoke piece take to deliver?
Does EDELHOLZ deliver to Austria?
Would you like a set-up like this?
We’ll talk your project through with you personally, or you go straight to the model that fits.
Philipp Strobel is a qualified automotive engineer. He brings an engineer’s way of thinking to running a business, and develops desks in which function and design come out of one system. He has been developing products in wood since 2017, and since 2024, with EDELHOLZ, desks for business owners.
