It is my mission to craft unique, heirloom quality furniture. My dream is to create items that will live long enough to carry history and a story with them as they continue to serve you and your family for generations. Both the design and craftsmanship play an important role in achieving this goal. Great care is taken to design a piece that provides purpose, function and timeless aesthetics. To ensure the furniture can withstand the test of time, each piece is crafted with the finest hardwoods and proper joinery techniques.
Lumber
The foundation for each piece of furniture are the materials used to create it. I only use premium hardwoods for its beauty and durability. There is no substitute for genuine hardwood lumber, especially when it comes to choosing the color, texture and character of the wood. No stain will make Pine look like Walnut, for example, so it’s important to choose the species that achieves the look you desire. When investing in a high quality piece of furniture, the lumber is only a portion of the overall cost, and it is well worth choosing the actual species versus attempting to artificially color the wood.
Design
The design of your furniture is an integral part of creating a piece that will be both functional and aesthetically pleasing for you. Each piece is tailored to fit your home fulfilling a specific function(s). The dimensions of the overall piece and the layout and size of the functional details of the furniture are custom made to meet your needs. The details of your furniture are what will set it apart from the mass produced items and will give it character and uniqueness to make it your own. Great attention to detail is taken to add design elements, both big and small, to make your furniture one of kind.
Joinery
Both traditional and modern construction techniques are used to craft each piece of furniture. Each component is joined using an appropriate technique for each situation resulting in furniture that has exceptional durability. Not only do the joinery techniques of your custom furniture add to its strength and durability, it can also add aesthetic elements to showcase the craftsmanship. Putting joinery on display is a fun way to blend form and function and allows you to enjoy the craftsmanship of your piece each day.
Finish
Only premium finishes are used to protect your furniture. A finish appropriate for where the furniture will live, and how it will be used will be applied to provide water protection and UV protection. In most cases, a hard wax oil will serve you well, and is a great compromise between durability and ease of maintenance. No finish is bullet proof, and all of them will have to be maintained at some point. When investing in heirloom quality furniture that may need to be refinished multiple times throughout its life, its important to choose a finish that is easy to reapply. This is also another good reason to avoid artificially coloring the wood. We want the wear and tear of the piece to expose the same color wood below the finish so that you, and possibly future generations, do not need to color match when freshening the finish.
Whitehurst Custom Woodworking 