Investing in Quality: Why Small-Batch, Locally Crafted Wood Furniture Belongs in Your Home. Expert Tips from Furniture Designer Jake of Marshall Wood
As an Interior Designer, I’m passionate about moving beyond mass-produced furniture to highlight the unique value of locally crafted wood pieces. Custom furniture from local Furniture Designers brings authenticity, warmth, and individuality to any space, offering meaningful and sustainable designs. Each piece reflects not only your style but also your support for small businesses and environmentally conscious practices.
Recently, I had the pleasure of speaking with Jake from Marshall Wood, a talented Perth-based Furniture designer who was generous enough to share his insights into sustainable craftsmanship. His work illustrates how thoughtfully designed, locally sourced furniture can enhance your home with a sense of place, artistry, and durability that mass-produced pieces can’t match.
Image Credits: Bryce Twyman
Interview and Expert Advice from Jake of Marshall Wood:
What do you find most memorable about creating Furniture from wood compared to other materials?
I think the most memorable thing is the uniqueness of every piece of timber. When I’m working on a piece, I’m typically consumed by it for a few days or weeks. I can remember every bit of feature and every little defect in all the pieces I’ve created because I have obsessed over them for so long.
Can you walk us through selecting the perfect type of wood for a furniture piece? What factors do you consider?
I have worked with mostly premium imported timber species that you commonly see in furniture manufacturing, like oak, walnut and ash. This is largely due to the demand from my interior design clients and because these species match well with other items that clients either already possess or source from furniture stores. Oak is very hard and durable, so it makes for a great tabletop. Ash has an interesting, deep-grain pattern that takes a stain well, and I often use this when a client specifies a black finish. Walnut is a clear favourite due to its beautiful colour and grain, and despite its high price and relative softness compared to the other options, most clients usually fall in love with it. I will say that the factors that draw me to the timbers I use are consistency, availability and quality - knowing I can reliably get good quality material in almost any quantity and dimension from my supplier is more important to me than the underlying characteristics of the timber.
How do you bring out the natural beauty of wood in your designs? Do you have any favourite finishing techniques?
I have used a variety of finishing methods but have now settled on using a hard wax oil for most projects unless specified otherwise. I use this because it is a natural product, is repairable and can be used in a dusty workshop environment without too much hassle. Most clients prefer the feel of an oil finish over a film finish as well as the ability to touch it up and restore it over the years. That said, I’d like not to get too comfortable here because it’s great to try new things and experiment with other techniques.
How do you get inspired for your next wooden Furniture design? Do you take cues from nature, architecture, or other sources?
I honestly have no idea where the majority of my designs have come from. Most of the time, I’m too busy chasing my tail to think of any new designs, and given I’m a self-taught designer and maker with no proper design practice, I tend not to make time for the design side of things. I take cues from all around me, though, particularly architecture. I also tend to think of what is possible with my equipment and abilities and design from there rather than imagining something crazy and figuring out how to make it (which is something I’d like to do more of). Most of the designs that I have been pushing lately have appeared out of nowhere in my head; I’ve run with them, received good feedback and then pushed hard to produce these in as many shapes, sizes and colourways as possible.
How can people use wood Furniture to bring warmth and texture to spaces that might feel cold or minimalist?
I think timber furniture is a great way to warm up spaces that may have more of a cooler feel to them. You can do this by calling Marshall Wood and ordering a piece today! But seriously, just by using a timber piece, you’re solving this problem. I actually really like the look of lots of different timber colours throughout a space rather than them all matching perfectly. It’s a good opportunity to introduce some unique timbers that you may not see around very often.
What’s your advice for maintaining and caring for wooden Furniture to ensure it lasts generations?
This could turn into a very long answer, but I’ll keep it short and specific to my pieces which are likely to be finished in a hardwax oil. Keeping pieces clean and dry is the key - spills should be wiped up immediately, and I typically suggest coasters and placemats for high-use items like dining tables. Cleaning should be done with a damp rag, as cleaning products can degrade timber finishes. I recommend a specific cleaner made by Osmo as it adds back some of the oil that would otherwise be stripped off over time with a detergent-style cleaner.
Sunlight is terrible for timber and finish, so direct sunlight should be avoided. It can cause the finish to degrade, the colour of the timber to change more rapidly and may also cause cracking and warping. Film finishes usually yellow and crack under direct sunlight. If you leave items on a timber piece that gets a lot of sun you’ll also note that it might leave a sun tan around these items, like a rug on a floor or a pot on a shelf.
Heating and cooling is also something to be mindful of - I’ve seen pieces too close to a stove or heater which degrade and crack or separate at the glue joints. Further, pieces that are directly under an air conditioner can crack and warp due to the dry air blowing across the piece.
Finally, all those handmade ceramics that we love should have soft pads or felt feet underneath, as this is the most common way I see table tops scratched. Pot plants and hot dishes are also the culprits for many stains and marks on timber surfaces. Down below, you should be careful of the vacuum cleaner or broom banging into the legs of a piece of furniture over and over again, and be mindful of mopping around a piece as getting the legs wet over and over again with dirty water is going to create an unsightly problem. Just look at the baseboards in any cafe with timber panelling, and you’ll see what I mean!
With all this said, if a piece is made from solid timber with a hard wax finish, I see no reason not to just use it and love it without too much stress about damage occurring. These pieces develop a nice patina over time, and if the damage gets too severe, they can always be sanded back and recoated.
Image Credits: Bryce Twyman
What’s a trend in wooden Furniture design you’re excited about right now?
I’m actually more excited about seeing things that aren’t trendy! I’ve always tried to design things that are somewhat timeless and not too trendy as things go out of fashion fast. It can be hard to do this though when clients are asking for trendy items and I have to pay the bills at the end of the day. One thing I am excited to see more of is the use of burl in modern/minimal designs rather than old fashioned looking pieces.
Have you ever designed a piece specifically to highlight the natural imperfections or grain of the wood? How did it turn out?
Absolutely, I do this all the time, though often, I don’t actually see the timber until after the piece is designed. A lot of my designs use the grain of the timber in interesting ways, like my Baker and Ecton bedside tables, which show off the end grain on the top of the piece, as well as the Halesworth coffee table, which shows off the end grain, where the leg punches through the top. Further, I often round edges over because I think this creates interesting grain patterns that wouldn’t otherwise be seen on a square edge.
Sometimes I do find a special piece of timber that I see which inspires a design. One such piece is a little wall mounted artwork that I made from a few strips of a cool looking offcut. I’d like to do more of these but I haven’t been able to find a bit of timber that looks the same ever since!
Do you have a favourite piece you’ve designed? What makes it stand out to you?
I don’t really have any favourites to be honest, most of what I have put out recently I have only done so because I particularly like the designs. All the ones I didn’t like have been buried, and most people won’t see them! If I had to pick a current favourite, it’s the Skirt range. I just like how it looks across so many different sizes and proportions, so I think it is quite a versatile design. It is also super simple, but with some lovely timber, it creates a pretty striking piece that stands out to me.
How can people deal with natural changes in wood, like expansion, contraction, or colour changes over time?
Clients shouldn’t have to deal with expansion and contraction in timber furniture - that’s my job. Timber naturally expands in the humid weather and contracts in the dry weather, and it’s up to me to design and make pieces that allow for this. Timber naturally wants to cup, too, so things like tops need to be braced in some way underneath to allow them to remain flat while also expanding and contracting without restriction. Typically, makers would use joinery like a sliding dovetail or slotted holes, allowing the bolts to move back and forth.
Colour changes are going to happen no matter what. Both the timber and the finish will change colour over time and usually this is because of UV exposure. Keeping the piece out of harsh sunlight will help slow this, but it won’t stop it completely. One thing a client can do is not leave items on a piece of timber in the same place for too long. As mentioned above, this can leave a sun tan and some timbers are more prone to this than others, like cherry.
Image Credits: Bryce Twyman