Skip disability assistance statement.

Welcome to our website! As we have the ability to list over one million items on our website (our selection changes all of the time), it is not feasible for a company our size to record and playback the descriptions on every item on our website. However, if you have a disability we are here to help you. Please call our disability services phone line at 630-482-3500 during regular business hours and one of our kind and friendly personal shoppers will help you navigate through our website, help conduct advanced searches, help you choose the item you are looking for with the specifications you are seeking, read you the specifications of any item and consult with you about the products themselves. There is no charge for the help of this personal shopper for anyone with a disability. Finally, your personal shopper will explain our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, and help you place an order if you so desire.

Materials, Construction & Finishing

Image of a Work Shop

Why solid hardwood?

Solid hardwood is a renewable foundation for beautiful, durable furniture that will last for generations.

  • Renewable: all of our solid hardwoods are harvested from responsibly managed forests.
  • Durable: tomorrows antiques built today.
  • Natural wood-grain beauty speaks for itself!
  • Repairable: damaged boards can be sanded, refinished, or even cut out and replaced; try that with a veneer!

  • Available Wood Species:
  • Cherry
  • walnut
  • Maple
  • Brown Maple
  • Quarter Sawn White Oak
  • Red Oak
  • White Oak
  • Elm
  • Hickory

  • Lumber Options:
  • Multiple thicknesses
  • Live Edge for a sophisticated natural look.
  • Rough Sawn for a rustic look.
  • Smooth finish for modern and traditional styles.

Only the best construction methods.

All of our construction methods such as dovetail drawers, double drawer fronts, mortise and tenon joints, 1″ thick tops along with geared table slides, and metal drawer slides add beauty, life and performance to our furniture. We start with solid hard wood that has been dried down to approximately 6% humidity, where wood is at its most stable. We lock that humidity level in place with products designed to seal the grain against moisture. Our production methods are an extension of furniture making traditions that reach back to the roots of our country.

Table Construction Specifics:

  • Most of our tables come standard with a 5th center leg for extra support. Fearlessly serve your 300 pound turkey this Thanksgiving confident that your table will provide all the support you need!
  • Geared slides come standard on most of our extension tables for ease of operation.
  • We use solid wood aprons or recessed metal bracing for excellent top stability.

Dining Chair Specifics:

  • The vast majority of our dining chairs feature mortise and tenon joinery along with back legs that run continuous from the floor to the top of the chair back for extra endurance. This means you can lean back, balancing on the two back legs without the joints loosening up and coming apart. We still don’t endorse this practice though as our chairs do nothing to improve your balance!
  • Styles that do not have a continuous back are glued, screwed, and shimmed where applicable.

All of our Drawers Feature:

  • Dovetails to ensure strength and longevity.
  • Full extension ball bearing slides for convenience and ease of use.
  • Double drawer fronts - Our drawer fronts are separate pieces of wood from the box making a superior drawer.

Finishing furniture requires electricity!

That's why we built a state of the art finishing facility with a massive air makeup and climate control system. This ensures perfect conditions for applying the industries most beautiful and resilient finish. Our top coat has the highest scratch resistance of any available. It repels everything from water to fingernail polish. Glasses won't leave a ring, spills clean right up, and cleaning can be done with a damp cloth. Dust with a cloth, clean with a light vinegar solution, that’s it. Our finish requires no polish, no maintenance, and no special care products. The stains we apply are formulated to accentuate wood grain as much as possible. They visually explode the flakes in Quartersawn Oak, and bring out all the fine grained beauty of Cherry. The top coat we use is a 2 part catalyzed varnish, similar to clear coat on a car. It is often used in high end kitchen cabinetry. Together our stains & top coat imbue a sence of depth & dimensionality to the wood that is truly remarkable, the results often times look alive.