Bespoke Table and Chairs in Elm
We’ve recently started working with Fruition design, a Devon based interior design company. Three or so months ago the team at Fruition gave us a call saying they had a client who was looking to commission a bespoke dining table for their newly renovated Devon home.
They booked in a visit to the workshop and brought their clients with them to discuss the commission in a bit more detail. They had a look at the dining tables that we have in our small showroom and I showed them some lovely samples of the different types of timber that we could use to make their table.
They were looking for an 8 seater table that could extend in order to seat an additional 4 people. Thus when fully extended it would seat 12. I showed them some images and a blog post of a bespoke extending dining table that we made a while ago. It was an extending version of our Weaveley table. They loved the design and the extension method. So we settled on making a dining table to measure 2200x1000mm with a couple of ‘store-away’ leaves each measuring 1000x400mm, enabling a fully extended table size of 3000x1000mm.
While we were sitting in the showroom discussing the table commission, our Brampton Low Back chair caught their eye. They commissioned 8 of these, to be upholstered in a fabric of their choice.
Having looked at various different timbers they decided to have their dining table and chairs made in British Elm with a clear matt oiled finish.
I hand-picked the British Elm for the dining table and chairs from Tyler hardwoods. Here’s the pack of Elm that I picked through at the sawmill.
When making a table top, I always try to use boards picked from the same one log. That way the grain and colour in the finished table top should flow seamlessly. Elm can have a lot of colour variation across even a single board, which gives it a lovely natural aesthetic. The grain pattern of Elm is in my view quite stunning.
These are the Elm boards (all from the same log) that we made the table top in.
The client asked that I ‘photo-journal’ the commission, so I was snapping away all the way through the making process. Here are just a few images of the table and chairs in the making.
The elm that we used for the chair frames in its rough sawn state. Already you can see how wonderful the grain is going to look.
Some chair back legs marked out and ready for cutting on the bandsaw.
A load of chair components ready for sanding.
Our Bramton Low Back chair handmade in Elm, assembled and in cramps.
And here's a picture of the table and chairs looking happy in their new home!
If you're interested in commissioning a bespoke table for your home, why not take a look at our collection of handmade dining tables or get in touch to discuss your commission.
