Materials
What everything is made of
Nine materials across the whole catalogue, and each one has something wrong with it. Travertine stains. Bouclé catches. Walnut lightens in the sun. You are about to wait eight weeks for one of these, so here is the full account before you do.
Timber
European oak
Sunde dining table, Norreby sideboard, the plinth on the Fennwick
The default, and the most forgiving thing we work in. It dents rather than splits, it takes oil evenly, and a scratch sands out in about ten minutes. It also yellows noticeably in direct light over the first two years — the white-oiled finish slows that down, it does not stop it.
- Source
- Managed forest, Jutland and Lower Saxony
- Janka hardness
- 1,360 lbf
- Moisture at cut
- 8–10%
- Movement
- Medium — expect 2mm across a 900mm top
CareRe-oil once a year, or when water stops beading. One coat, cloth on, cloth off.
Timber
American walnut
Ellery credenza, Norreby sideboard, the Talla table base
Softer than oak and far more stable, which is why the drawer boxes are walnut even where the carcass is not. It lightens rather than darkens with age, so a walnut front that starts near-black settles to a warm brown in about five years. People either love that or are surprised by it, so we say it before you order.
- Source
- Pennsylvania and Ohio, FSC-certified
- Janka hardness
- 1,010 lbf
- Moisture at cut
- 7–9%
- Movement
- Low — the most stable timber in the range
CareKeep out of direct sun for the first year — it fades unevenly if half a top is lit.
Timber
Ash
Ostley dining chair, Charcoal Ash finish on the Norreby
The best timber we have for a chair. It bends under steam, it takes a spindle without tearing, and it is strong enough that the Ostley leg can be 28mm rather than 40mm. It is too lively for a large flat panel, which is why you will not find an ash tabletop here.
- Source
- Danish and Polish, kiln-dried in Jutland
- Janka hardness
- 1,320 lbf
- Moisture at cut
- 8–10%
- Movement
- Medium-high — not used for wide tops
CareSame as oak. Smoked ash is fumed rather than stained, so a chip shows the same colour underneath.
Timber
Teak
Ellery credenza, Teak finish only
Reclaimed only. We buy from two yards that dismantle houses and boats, so every board arrives with a history and occasionally with a bolt hole we work around. It is the one material here where the piece you receive will differ visibly from the photograph, and we will send a picture of the actual boards before we cut.
- Source
- Reclaimed, Java and Sulawesi
- Janka hardness
- 1,070 lbf
- Moisture at cut
- 9–11%
- Movement
- Very low
CareNothing. Teak has enough oil of its own. Wipe it and leave it alone.
Stone
Travertine
Talla coffee table, Classic and Silver
Unfilled, so the pits are open and you can feel them. Filled travertine looks tidier for two years and then the filler discolours at a different rate to the stone, which is worse. It will stain from red wine and from lemon if you leave them, and that is the honest trade for the surface.
- Source
- Tivoli, Lazio
- Finish
- Honed, unfilled
- Thickness
- 30mm, eased edge
- Porosity
- Sealed, but not stainproof
CareRe-seal every two years. Blot acids immediately; a poultice will pull most marks back out.
Textile
Bouclé
Fennwick lounge chair, Marlow dining chair
Loops, which means it catches. A cat will find it, a watch clasp will find it, and a pulled loop is trimmed rather than pulled through. In exchange it hides everything else and it is the only upholstery here that looks better at year five than at year one.
- Composition
- 78% wool, 22% recycled polyester
- Weight
- 640 g/m²
- Martindale
- 45,000 rubs
- Mill
- Kortrijk, West Flanders
CareVacuum weekly on low with an upholstery head. Blot spills, never rub. Dry clean only.
Textile
Cotton velvet
Ardley three-seater, Marlow and Fennwick options
Cotton rather than polyester, which is the whole difference. It marks where you sit and the pile shades light and dark as it moves — that is velvet behaving correctly, not a fault, and it is the single most common thing people write to us about in the first month.
- Composition
- 100% cotton pile on a cotton back
- Weight
- 410 g/m²
- Martindale
- 60,000 rubs
- Mill
- Como, Lombardy
CareBrush the pile in one direction with a soft brush. Vacuum monthly. Professional clean.
Textile
Washed linen
Fold cushion set, Bone Linen on the Ardley
Stonewashed before it is cut, so it arrives already relaxed and does not shrink further. It creases permanently and it is meant to. The lowest rub count in the range, so we do not offer it on the three-seater as a main cover.
- Composition
- 100% European flax
- Weight
- 285 g/m²
- Martindale
- 30,000 rubs
- Mill
- Kortrijk, West Flanders
CareCushion covers come off and go in at 30°. Line dry. Do not tumble.
Textile
Lambswool
Highland throw, Fog Wool on the Fennwick
Woven on the same frames as the throws, which is why the two match exactly. It pills for the first two months and then stops. A comb sorts it out; a razor does not, and we would rather you did not.
- Composition
- 100% lambswool
- Weight
- 520 g/m²
- Martindale
- 50,000 rubs
- Mill
- Hawick, Scottish Borders
CareAir it rather than washing it. Cold hand wash only if you must, and dry flat.
Every material here has a fault. We would rather name it than photograph around it.
Finishes
Four of them across the range. A surcharge on a finish is the cost of the material and the extra process, never a margin on the colour.
- Hardwax oilTimber
- Penetrates rather than coats. Marks more easily than lacquer and can be repaired in place with a cloth and an hour, which is the trade we would make every time.
- FumedAsh and oak
- Ammonia reacts with the tannin in the timber, so the colour goes all the way through. A chip shows the same shade underneath rather than pale wood.
- LacquerAsh and oak
- Two-part, matt at 10% sheen. Harder-wearing than oil and effectively unrepairable at home — a damaged panel is refinished or replaced.
- Pleated paperHalo pendant
- Laminated cellulose, pleated by hand in twenty-four folds. Dusts with a dry brush and yellows very slightly over about a decade.
- 9Timbers we work in
- 4Mills we buy cloth from
- 0Veneer anywhere in the range
- 2 yrBetween travertine seals
Swatches and repairs
Swatches are free
Tell us which pieces you are weighing up and we send the actual timber and the actual cloth. No limit, no postage, and no follow-up email.
Oiled, not lacquered, by default
A hardwax finish marks and can be mended with a cloth and an hour. We send a care kit with every timber piece and it lasts about three years.
Re-upholstered rather than replaced
Frames outlast covers by decades. Send a Fennwick back at year twelve and we re-cover it in whatever is current for about a third of a new one.
Repaired for life
Joints, finishes, upholstery, at any age. The workshop keeps your drawings, which is why we can cut a matching part twenty years later.