Using wood in design is nothing new. Keeping it natural isn’t new, either. However, a growing number of designers and woodworkers are putting the natural aesthetics of bare wood center stage, to great effect.
In the home-design world’s very recent past, paint was everything. Find a vintage wooden chair at a flea market? Strip it, then paint it. Now, straight from the design shows in Milan, New York and Los Angeles, designers have opted to keep their wood pieces au naturel to maintain a sense of purity, substance and authenticity.
“The natural colors of walnut, cherry, maple, sassafras, hickory and oak are so beautiful, I can’t find any reason to cover them up. The designers and woodworkers that I draw upon as influence all work that way,” said furniture designer Freddy Hill. “What’s most important to me is trying to distill my designs down to their barest element. Nothing is added simply for the sake of decoration.”
John Pemberton, founder of Carlysle Manufacturing, uses tung oil to keep his wood furniture pieces protected and to bring out the grain’s natural richness. “I’ve never cared for the appearance of one wood species being stained to look like another. It takes away the uniqueness and detail of each board,” he said.
