Each dining table is created by our master tablemaker, Moses and his three assistants. The artisans in his table workshop have over 60 years of combined woodworking experience. Their talents really come into focus when you look at some of the mixed wood designs that Moses and his team created.
What is Mixed Wood?
Mixed wood is when we take 2 or more different species of wood, and combine them together to create a piece of furniture.
We use a clear wood finish, allowing the contrast between the two wood species to emerge naturally in the design.
These are the three most commonly-employed combinations:
What are Inlays?
Moses can also create inlays, which embed a second hardwood into another wood—creating a beautiful contrasting effect.
Inlays can be created in simple geometric shapes. They are most commonly created as rectangles, squares or diamonds.
It’s important to note that we cannot finish the inlay a different stain color than the rest of the table, that would create the potential for runs and streaks to emerge over time. The contrast of color and grain in an inlay comes from the natural features of the hardwood the inlay is created from.
What is Fluting?
Fluting is an alternating ‘raised and lowered’ pattern in hardwood, it is generally done on the legs or skirt of a dining table.
Fluting can be done in either a single hardwood, or in mixed wood. Fluting cannot be done with two different wood stain colors.
What are Border Tables?
Border tables are a mixed wood design where the tabletop is created from two different hardwoods, creating a dramatic contrast.
The most popular combination for border tables is walnut and hickory. Border Tables are often combined with a Timber Edge.
What is a Timber Edge?
A Timber Edge isn’t a mixed wood design, it is a custom table edge that creates an extra-large end cap all around the tabletop. The timber edge replaces the typical table skirt, and serves to hide the leaf storage mechanism and hardware connections in the base of the table.
What Else Can Moses Make?
We can also create mixed wood designs in three or more hardwoods, such as these beautiful mixed wood tables:
What About Two Different Wood Stains?
Unfortunately, utilizing two or more wood stains on a dining table is much more limited than utilizing two different wood species.
Staining different parts of a table in two different colors requires that those table parts be physically separated while they’re being stained. This generally limits us to staining the tabletop, table skirt, and table base in different wood stains.
Here are some examples of what we can do with two different wood stains:
Where to Learn More
If you have any questions about our mixed wood tables, please email us or call us at 1-888-900-5235. John or Gail will be happy to help!