Our Handmade Dining Furniture

Our catalog of handmade dining furniture consists of the Wilson chairs and four distinct dining tables.  This page gives general information about the chairs and tables.  For specific information, photos, and prices click on the links to the left or in the body of this text.

Dining Chairs

The Wilson Dining Chair is my design.  Like the rocking chair, it was designed for comfort and refined as sculpture.  Everyone comments on its comfort, particularly the lumbar support.  After spending much time finding the curve that works so well to support the lumbar in the back of the rocking chairs, I thought I had at least part of the work done when I began designing a dining chair.  Wrong.  As you sit up straighter, the curve in your back changes.  Moreover, the design criterion for the interplay of muscle and mind is different when dining.  In the rocker you are relaxed without tension and can sleep if you wish.  With dining chairs the desired result is a state of alertness, with no tension, and good posture, without effort.

I hear this and variations on it a lot,

"We no longer leave the table looking for a comfortable place to sit."

When designing the dining chairs, I used several tactics that distinguish and secure the rocker design.  One, the two center back splats run up the large muscles of your back so that you supply your own padding.  Another, the seat is deeply scooped to the correct contour.  The deepest part of the scoop is located so that the pressure on your hipbones is relieved (again allowing you to provide your own padding).  And, because your hipbones settle into the deepest part of the scoop, you are held upright and back against the lumbar support — slumping is difficult.

Our handmade dining room furniture is built to last.  The front legs are mortised through the seat and wedged.  The stretchers truss the frame.  And, very importantly, the back legs touch the floor behind a comfortable fulcrum point; anyone would have to work hard to lean back on the back legs, so no one does — sparing the joints this often damaging racking force.

The Wilson Chairs, like our rocking chairs, work with many decors and motifs in many furniture situations.  I don't know what furniture style they are, but people have commented on their influences (Arts and Crafts, Shaker, Scandinavian, Contemporary . . . ) and their versatility.  We sell many for use around existing tables of various styles.  I will ship you a dining chair for a "see, sit, and touch" trial if you wish.  Call to make arrangements.

Dining Tables

When lumber arrives at the shop, we keep an eye out for pieces that are the most suitable for our handmade dining furniture.  We spread the lumber out and look for table pieces; long, wide boards of exceptional color, figure, and character.  These boards are beautiful in and of themselves and are worthy of prominent display, unadorned.  We store them until someone orders a table.  [The remaining wood goes into chairs and other furniture.  These pieces of furniture don't suffer the loss of the tabletop boards.  The specifications for grain, color, figure, and character in the relatively short lengths required for these pieces can still be fulfilled.]

When someone orders a table, we choose boards from our "special table reserve" for their individual beauty and their collective composition.  We flatten them, plane them, and edge join them tightly.  Often people must be shown the seams, but the heft and expression of thick boards are still there.  We offer the table tops sanded or hand planed.  The tops may be oil finished or varnished.  (See Finishing Dining Table Tops for an explanation of the options available for our handmade dining furniture.)

Mitchell Table		McCoy Table		Paschall Table		Phillips Table

We catalog and offer four dining table designs:  one with a trestle base, a round one with a pedestal, and two with legs at their corners.  We build our tables to suit the seating and the space — width and length may be specified and leaves can be provided for the "leg at corner" designs.  We also design and build custom tables of your chosen look and required size.
(See Custom Furniture.)