Posts tagged 'Solid Wood Furniture'

America is throwing away furniture at a disturbing clip. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 12 million tons, 450% more per year than in 1960, now finds its way into landfills. 

The problem accelerated with the arrival of Covid. That event seemed to trigger consumers’ willingness to make larger purchases online, leading to a rapid rise in “fast furniture” — relatively inexpensive, trendy, made from substandard materials and designed to catch your eye, last for a year or two and then fall apart so you must buy again. It has given a whole new meaning to “one nightstand.”

For newcomers to working from home, difficulty concentrating is common. So is procrastination. Experts tell us there are ways to minimize the power of distractions and a well-appointed, organized workspace tops the list. Don't you think now is the time to create a productive home office with the help of furniture that's designed for the task?

Cleaner lines, modern spirit, flexibility and fun meet today’s tastes and demands for home office furniture. At Gat Creek, you can scale it up if you have a dedicated room as a home office and scale it down if you’re sharing space in a family room, extra bedroom or great room.

The quality of a drawer box reveals worlds about the craftsmanship of the piece and the values of its maker. The first indication of authenticity? Joinery; look for dovetail joints. “The drawer front is almost always the first point of failure due to the forces of opening and closing,” Gat said. “Dovetail joints interlock the drawer front to its sides and will essentially outlast any other joint.” When crafting drawer sides, Gat Creek uses solid ash, an extremely stable and durable hardwood. For the drawer bottom, another area of potential failure, we select 3/8-inch wood.

It seems there are two kinds of people in the world when it comes to owning beautifully made furniture. Those who want it to forever look like it just arrived from the workshop, and the rest of us.

We’re only slightly kidding. The truth is that all things in life will show wear and tear when used — leather goods, household appliances, even a diamond can be scratched by another diamond. But when we’re talking about your new Gat Creek dining table we know that seeing the first little scratch can be stressful.

It is the passion of woodworkers, darling of interior designers, bane to horses and a legend among hardwoods. Walnut — specifically American Black Walnut — enjoys a well-earned reputation as the premier lumber for crafting fine furniture. Gat Creek is proud to now offer it as a material option. No other wood possesses its unique stability and hardness, its remarkable graining and coloration. You simply can’t fake walnut’s aesthetic appeal. (More on the horses later.)

Gat Creek is fortunate to be located in the Appalachian Mountains, surrounded by the beautiful forests that supply our workshop. It’s a source of pride that, through sustainable management, these forests hold more trees today than they did a century ago. Environmentally and economically, our local forests are healthy and thriving. And there is even more good news when it comes to the healthy advantages of our handcrafted solid wood furniture.

If you’re confused by what is solid wood and what isn’t, we’re not surprised. The meaning has been stretched so many ways some would have you believe any furniture that isn’t hollow is solid wood.

However, the distinction matters. For so many reasons — beauty, longevity, value, the health of your family — real solid wood is the superior choice.