Hickory Furniture

These furniture pieces are not clearly a pair in their use -A media cabinet with square doors and a simple radius detail, and a framed kitchen pantry- but in this instance, they inhabit a co-planar wall within a living-dining-kitchen and they match like siblings. Little details in the pieces, the matched radius of door pull and cabinet top, the lapped engrain reveals, are clues to their shared genetics.

Small living spaces benefit the most from sensible furniture. The pantry is tall, with wide sides, to hold a bounty of ingredients while keeping things tidy to the rest of the space. A spice rack on the inside of the full-width lower door holds tons of spices for easy viewing and access. Perhaps I was inspired by a refrigerator door. The media console is a large top surface with space for a TV, but also some art, speakers, and library books, a living room organizing tool in itself. Cantilevered ends are a spot to store stools and baskets.

Hickory wood is often known for its bright contrasts. In order to foreground the warm heartwood color, I joined Josh Tomlinson at the lumber supplier for a careful selection of boards. Within this range of selected boards, characteristics of Hickory grain I’d never noticed began to leap out at me. Waves and ripples in the growing rings, gradient yellows, pinks and reds fading in and out over the width of a board. The Hickory in this furniture marries the typical premium qualities of walnut and oak, combining the warmth and grain of both.