What timber makes the best furniture?

It has been argued that a reason for using exotic timbers is because of their distinctive and interesting colours and grain patterns. But just look at those pictured - all are locally sourced Scottish timbers. As well as being sustainable, minimising environmental impact for transport, and aligned with a circular economy they are truly beautiful, boasting vibrant colours, spectacular grain patterns, and age defying longevity. It is said that Scottish timber is particularly distinctive as a result of the wild weather and climate promoting slow growth, a dense timber, and extraordinary grain patterns. What more could you wish for when looking for a product that is beautiful, vibrant, long lasting, and environmentally friendly?

At Highwood Furniture we love to use timber that is as sustainable and local as we can. We are fortunate to live in a country with an abundance of beautiful and high quality natural resources. Unfortunately we also live in a country that imports two thirds of its timber, while leaving beautiful windblown trees to rot at the roadside. While there is of course an important place for allowing nutrients to return to the environment in which they grew it is also key to the future of our planet that we strive to use sustainable resources wherever we can.

Timber choice is often as much about aesthetics as anything else, however there are characteristics that will make different woods more suitable for some projects than others. Questions we will ask when making this decision for a project will include:

1. What physical features are required for the project? e.g. Does the design invite characterful wood for a large surface area? Does the design require specific physical properties (such as straight grains for steam bending)?

2. Are there timbers that hold specific meanings for the customer that it is desired are incorporated into the design.

3. What tones or characteristics will suit the home environment it is being designed for?

Here is an insight into some of our favourites and what we use them for:

Elm: Elm brings a little magic to a project, with greens and yellow tones complementing a range of brown and reddish colours. Elm is warm, comforting, and calming. Burr Elm with its intricate patterns regularly finds its way into Highwood Sgian Dubhs, and other handles and smaller projects. Recently Burr Elm was used for a coin display, and Elm regularly sees its place in Highwood shelving, panels, and work/counter tops. Its striking grain and gnarly edges makes it well suited to pieces where it is on show. Elm’s colouring and grain also makes for a beautiful cabinet destined for a classy and distinguished home.

Ash: A timber with multiple personalities, some sporting ostentatious grain patterns and colours, and others with straight strong grains well suited to techniques such as steam bending. Steam bending is a technique much loved in the Highwood workshop, particularly in our loopy desk and chair design, so Ash is a firm favourite for this reason. However, Ash is also a firm favourite for its delicate and refined tones and dramatic grains that make their way into tables, particularly side tables, coffee tables, and table nests, chairs, and cabinets.

Beech: Beech has an unfair reputation of being a little boring, based on imported timber grown in more consistent weather conditions with uniform grain and colour; Scottish Beech is a different beast with a flamboyant personality. From vibrant flamed colouring to the thoughtful and whimsical patterns brought on by the spalting effect that occurs in many timbers, but especially beech, when it is allowed to spend time mellowing before it is processed. Beech can be found in many a Highwood handle, cheese/serving board, bottle openers, and other small items. It has also held the starring role in many a table top, as well as supporting roles in table and chair legs. Beech may also be found as the timber of choice in a bespoke hardwood kitchen where character alongside reliability are so important.

Yew: A tree steeped in mythology, lore and superstition, which produces a timber that is every bit as mystifying and beautiful. Yew is a fickle timber, which firmly demands that designs for which it is to be used fully earn the right to be even be considered on the same page as Yew’s splendour. We have found that Yew tends to choose the design rather than the other way round, and this makes a Yew piece even more special when it chooses our workshop in which to come to life. The colours that are on show in a piece of Yew timber can range from pale yellow to deep purple, with pinks, reds, greens and occasionally brown tones also having their place. The swirls and patterns that appear in the grain and complex features that are so distinctive in a Yew tree can at times impact on the strength of the timber. This invites creativity and tests skills to showcase Yew’s beauty while still producing a strong and resilient piece of furniture. The consequence of this is that when a Yew piece comes to life it shines with a quality that can only come from complexity that has been carefully nurtured and understood. This quality holds its own unique and special place in the world and should always be treasured.

Oak: A sturdy choice with a well deserved reputation for quality and reliability. Always present in the Highwood furniture workshop, and a favourite for many. Oak will often be the first choice when a strong, reliable, and adaptable timber is required. Whether the project is a simple board, a bed, wardrobe, or full kitchen Oak is a safe bet that oozes classic understated charm. Our most recent Oak projects have included a dining table with a heavy quartz tabletop; Oak offered the perfect choice providing strength and style that worked well with classic joinery techniques.

Let us know what you think in the comments. What timber would you choose for your piece of dream furniture?

For further information in anything in our blogs feel free to get in touch.

Or reach out if you would like to find out more about commissioning a Highwood piece: kitchens, tables, cabinets, fitted bedrooms, chairs, wardrobes, sgian dubhs, and many more

Who designs better furniture: Artists or wood-workers?

With a few projects in the design stages at the moment in the Highwood furniture workshop there are a lot of ideas bouncing about. And this raises the question of what makes a great design?

Design is in no doubt as individual as the designer, and the approaches taken can be as equally as diverse. Good design enhances our lives, it is beautiful, practical, and hits the balance between the two in just the right way. Functionality and style need to go hand in hand, and it will meet the style and personality of its surrounds and the people invested in it.

To coin a corporate phrase blue-sky thinking should be every bit as important for your next piece of furniture as it is for your boardroom planning. While sometimes a design may focus heavily on the practical requirements, for others it is about really thinking outside the box and introducing something truly unique and special into your environment.

At Highwood furniture we work with carefully selected locally sourced sustainable Scottish timber, and the beauty of the materials we work with often carry the weight of the “beauty” side of a design. This allows us to focus on simplicity and functionality to provide you with a one off piece. High standards of workmanship, detailed cabinetry, and high quality finishing make all the difference in doing justice to the beautiful natural resources we work with.

At other times the vision (and unfortunately also the budget) of the client, and the environment the piece is destined for lend themselves to being able to reach for the sky when it comes to design. Colin’s artistic flair can then come into its own. Where this situation arises Colin likes to throw in some random design ideas off spec as part of the design process. He finds that this demonstrates a different direction which can then bring out new ideas.

It is also important for us, as designers to consider what we are designing, and what skills are important. It is easy to focus in on the functional and practical nature of the project in hand. How many cupboards will fit in a space? What would “normally” be the layout of a wardrobe in these circumstances? What is the build structure of a bed or table in most circumstances? In this way, if a design is created based on how it will be built the creativity can be stumped. When we are designing we like to start with a vision, and build that vision first before building the furniture. Only when this is done is it time to introduce the practicalities and find a way for the vision to be made into reality. Arguably it is easier to design inspired artistic pieces of furniture before having the knowledge of how to build them.

What does this mean for you if you are commissioning a piece of Highwood furniture?

House/site visits are important part of the process, drawings can begin to take shape at an initial visit when you are present. A visit also allows us to get a feel for your style and personality which is so important in making the right piece for you. In this way, the design process starts with rough sketches. We may go away and build on these and come back to you with more detail. Once a direction and ideas have been generated then more detailed plans will come together, possibly, but not always, using computer software. For some pieces there may be multiple design visits, with changes made at each until we get it right - in partnership with you.

So who does design better furniture: An artist or a wood worker? Perhaps the best furniture comes from someone who is both? Someone who can pair artistic vision with functionality using wood.

Do you know a lap joint from a bridle joint?

A recent project that came through the Highwood Furniture workshop prompted the use of a range of different joinery techniques, and therefore invited the opportunity of using this weeks blog to reflect on these and why they are used.

For those who enjoy and appreciate, but perhaps don't make furniture, the difference can sometimes be mystifying. Good joinery is beautiful, and we can all appreciate the feel of a piece of furniture that we have confidence in. Good design brings together aesthetic beauty with strength and longevity.

For this particular project, the brief was for a table to complement the beautiful new kitchen the customer had recently fitted. The key feature was a large oval quartz table top in the same material as the kitchen countertop. Because of the weight and dimensions of this table top it was even more important than ever that balance and strength were at the forefront of the design. Other features selected were clean lines, and the timber of choice was oak to bring classic understated quality into the equation.

When choosing the type of joinery we will use for a piece of furniture, a number of factors are taking into account. Strength and durability and the way that joints will allow the timber to move as it adapts to its environment are key when considering the initial suitability of a type of join. The type of timber used for the piece may have an impact on what will be most suitable, as will the angles and pressures that will be required by the design. Where forces that may impact on structural integrity are minimal, there are times when joins are chosen for their simplicity and therefore cost and efficiency. It might also be that joinery is chosen for and is an integral part of the aesthetics of a piece, for example in a display box that Highwood furniture created for an artists materials hand cut dovetail joints were important to the high-quality intricate detail requested.

Choices made will differ depending on what is being made, table, cabinet, bed, etc. In the table described above the decision was made to use a lap joint where the timber crossed at the base of the structure, a bridle joint for each of the angled joins, and slip joints where the structure for the table top is supported by the main frame. These are illustrated in the picture alongside this blog.

We invite you to take a look at the furniture you come across in your life, it is truly fascinating to look at details and qualities of cabinetry in relation to its quality, structural integrity, and ultimately longevity.

Why does the end of my tape measure move?

Handy tips to increase the level of accuracy when measuring up

They say measure twice cut once, but that only works when your measurements are accurate

Accuracy is so important in so many things, not least when you are creating neat and precise joinery on a piece of fine furniture. For various reasons this became the topic of conversation in the Highwood Furniture workshop recently.

When planning and designing a piece of bespoke furniture we will visit your home wherever possible, and will certainly visit to measure up ahead of building anything that will be fitted (i.e. wardrobes, kitchens, window seats, shelving, etc). While it is not totally crucial, having an idea of size from the start can help with those early conversations. Rough measurements are all that are needed at this stage.

However, if you are wanting to measure more accurately there are a few things to take into consideration. , For example, do you know why the “hook” at the end of your tape measure moves a little? Exactly the thickness of the hook to be precise. The reason for this is to allow the measurement to be accurate whether you are measuring from the inside of a piece, or outside.

For example - when measuring the length of, say the inside of a drawer, where the full length of what you want to measure in your cabinet or other item is contained, the hook will contract into the tape to ensure that you aren’t adding any extra onto your measurement because of the thickness of hook.

Where you are measuring something that calls for hooking the tape measure over the edge; i.e. the top of your cabinet (or table, shelf, or plank of wood, etc) the hook extends. This compensates for the hooks own thickness that is overhanging the edge of the length you are measuring.

Genius eh?

And one of those pieces of information that is common sense obvious to those of you who know, but you don’t know what you don’t know until you find out!

Some other tips for accurate measurement:

1. Keep your measuring tape straight and tight. For longer lengths having two people definitely helps.

2. Ensure your tape measure is in good condition; consider if you have an older tape measure could it be stretched or bent, or the hook at the end worn?

3. Read the measurement at eye level, in line with the point you are measuring to.

4. Check your unit of measurement - I have yet to actually compare, but I imagine a 190cm long bed is much comfier than a 190mm one!