Brian Holcombe is a woodworker specializing in handmade, one-of-a-kind furniture influenced by Japanese sashimono techniques and furniture of the Chinese Ming Dynasty. All of Holcombe’s woodwork is joined together without the use of fasteners, nails or screws, and units like his credenzas and cabinets often feature shoji — traditional Japanese sliding doors or screens. His work is mid-century modern in style but thoughtfully traditional in construction as it draws on the materials and techniques once favored by the Samurai and wealthy merchants of Asia.
His studio, where he builds elegant bookcases, daybeds, benches and other pieces, is in Princeton, New Jersey. By creating his furniture by hand, Holcombe intimately understands the nature of each material he uses. While much of his work is made of wood, the use of various types, including ash, walnut and mahogany, gives a sophisticated variation to the furniture, with brass accents furthering the depth of its design. Holcombe uses mulberry paper for his sliding door pieces and offers a live edge on some products, like his dining room tables.
In addition to producing beautiful furniture, Holcombe teaches woodworking classes both in person and online, including workshops on hand tools, interlocking techniques and shoji doors. Publications such as Fine Woodworking and Handwork Magazine have featured his expert work.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of Brian Holcombe seating, tables, storage case pieces and more.
Walnut Media Console Room Divider with Sliding Shoji Doors
By Brian Holcombe
Located in Princeton, NJ
Walnut cabinet made by hand and featuring sliding shoji doors and shelves. This cabinet is constructed utilizing time honored joinery techniques featured in...
Walnut
$25,000 / item
Butler's Desk or Walnut Secretary
By Brian Holcombe
Located in Princeton, NJ
A contemporary take on the butler's desk. A butler's desk is a cabinet that converts into a desk, concealing its function. A desk, standing on its own looks out of place without an accompanying chair and lamp, but a cabinet that functions as a desk looks fine all by itself. This is entirely handmade, down to the desk hardware...
Brass
$8,750 / item
Walnut Credenza with Sliding Shoji Doors
By Brian Holcombe
Located in Princeton, NJ
Walnut credenza made by hand and featuring sliding shoji doors and a shelf. This cabinet is constructed utilizing time honored joinery techniques featured in Japanese temple carpentr...
Walnut
$18,000 / item
Walnut Bookcase with Shoji
By Brian Holcombe
Located in Princeton, NJ
Handmade bookcase in oiled walnut featuring abstract pattern shoji. This bookcase is made of solid, quarter sawn walnut and constructed utilizing timber joinery methods to allow long...
Walnut
$8,750 / item
Walnut Credenza with Sliding Shoji Doors
By Brian Holcombe
Located in Princeton, NJ
Walnut credenza made by hand and featuring sliding shoji doors and a shelf. This cabinet is constructed utilizing time honored joinery techniques featured i...
Walnut
$12,500 / item
Walnut Media Cabinet with Shoji Doors
By Brian Holcombe
Located in Princeton, NJ
Walnut cabinet made by hand and featuring shoji doors and shelves. This cabinet is constructed utilizing time honored joinery techniques featured in Japanes...
Walnut
$12,500 / item
Walnut Media Cabinet Room Divider with Shoji Doors
By Brian Holcombe
Located in Princeton, NJ
Walnut cabinet made by hand and featuring shoji doors and shelves. This cabinet is constructed utilizing time honored joinery techniques featured in Japanes...
Walnut
$11,800 / item
Walnut Bookcase with Brass Hardware
By Brian Holcombe
Located in Princeton, NJ
Handmade bookcase in oiled walnut featuring brass hardware. This bookcase is made of solid walnut and constructed utilizing traditional joinery methods. The uprights are created uti...
Brass
Bar Cart in Cherry with Brass Casters and Shoji Sliding Doors
By Brian Holcombe
Located in Princeton, NJ
Blending my influence of sashimono craftsmen and that of finely finished and carefully machined brass hardware to create a bar cart which is built using traditional handmade wood joi...
Cherry
$9,500 / item
Walnut hall Cabinet with Shoji Doors
By Brian Holcombe
Located in Princeton, NJ
Walnut cabinet made by hand and featuring shoji doors and shelves. This cabinet is constructed utilizing time honored joinery techniques featured in Japanese temple carpentry in addi...
Walnut
$1,800 / item
Standing Shelves in Quartersawn Ebonized Oak
By Brian Holcombe
Located in Princeton, NJ
These standing shelves are created utilizing traditional interlocking joinery to form a lightweight, strong and durable structure. Offsets are planned...
Oak
$8,250 / item
Hikido Credenza in Black Cherry
By Brian Holcombe
Located in Princeton, NJ
The credenza is made of American black cherry - the case is finished in blonde shellac and the Stand stained black. The secondary wood is American oak which lines the drawers. Detail...
Cherry, Walnut
Mid-Century Modern Early Knoll Walnut 2-Door Credenza
By Florence Knoll
Located in Port Jervis, NY
Diminutive credenza from the early 1950s. Walnut top is new veneer replacing worn Formica. Leather pulls a signature Florence Knoll design mark. Two sliding doors open to reveal two ...
Steel
French Walnut Bookcase
Located in Swadlincote, GB
Excellent quality French walnut bookcase, four adjustable shelves, wonderful steel hinge, working key, in overall excellent condition with a lovely colour. 55" high 26.5" wide 15" d...
Walnut
$3,295
H 88.75 in W 46.63 in D 21.25 in
Baker Furniture French Provincial Louis XV Carved Walnut Secretary Desk
By Baker Furniture Company
Located in South Bend, IN
A gorgeous French Provincial Louis XV style bureau with drop front secretary desk and bookcase hutch top By Baker Furniture USA, Circa 1980s Carved walnut, with original brass har...
Brass
$6,750
H 55 in W 55.75 in D 96.25 in
Stewart MacDougall 1970s Room Divider with Desk, Birch, Walnut & Formica
By Stewart MacDougall
Located in Los Angeles, CA
A beautifully conceived room divider with integrated desk from the 1970s, designed by Stewart MacDougall. Crafted in a harmonious blend of birch, warm walnut, vibrant Formica, and sl...
Metal
Vintage Distressed Sliding Door Credenza
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
This exceptional rustic credenza exudes an authentic, time-worn charm that anchors any interior with a sense of history and soul. Crafted from solid pine, the piece features a pair o...
Ceramic, Pine, Paint
$1,949
H 31.5 in W 60 in D 18.75 in
1950's Mid-Century Modern Knoll Style Walnut Sliding Door Credenza
By Herman Miller, George Nelson, Knoll, Florence Knoll
Located in Burbank, CA
Vintage original Mid century Modern sliding door credenza for sale. It has two sliding doors that open up to an adjustable shelf on both sides, and is really well made. It's made of ...
Walnut, Formica
CraftAssociates Credenza, Peabody Modern Walnut Credenza, Cane
By Craft Associates, Lawrence Peabody
Located in Oak Harbor, OH
CraftAssociates Credenza, Peabody Modern Walnut Credenza, Cane The CraftAssociates Credenza, Peabody Modern Walnut Credenza, Cane is expertly hand crafted. The Peabody collection pieces are licensed reintroductions for Craft Associates®. This cabinet is built with a solid oak frame, door fronts, interior shelf and legs. It features beautiful cane front door that have slide left to right covering an adjustable shelf. This cabinet is amazing and has perfect proportions to be used in multiple settings. It is available in custom wood and variations (different sizes). Craft Associates® Furniture is proud each modern piece is made in the US. We strive to craft a product that will stand the test of time. We use the best materials and have the best craftsman and upholstery in the business. We stand 100% behind our product. History Lawrence “Larry” Peabody (1924-2002) was an architect, interior designer, and furniture designer. As an American born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, his distinctive design were often influenced by his Scandinavian roots. Lawrence studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, Denmark and at the Rhode Island School of Design. His early career with Selig Mfg. Co. was prolific and helped put both himself and Selig on the map for modern furniture. He then started Lawrence Peabody & Associates in 1955, a design firm in Boston which included a vast client list (Sears, Roebuck & Co., Kohler, Regal Rugs, Boyd Lighting, Chapman Lamps, and Richardson Brothers). In 1961, Mr. Peabody won a Citation for Merit for his Peabody Collection for Richardson/ Nemschoff. Winner of the 1962 International A.I.D. design award for his wood frame rattan cradle chair...
Cane, Oak
$9,924 / item
H 33.08 in W 83.08 in D 21.26 in
Morelato Joyce Sideboard, in Ashwood with Straw Doors and brass handless
By Morelato
Located in Salizzole, IT
Contemporary style Joyce sideboard made of ashwood Two central doors with Vienna straw and two side sliding doors with handmade brass handles. The top ...
Brass
Federal Butlers Desk
Located in East Aurora, NY
Very attractive Mahogany southern Federal Butlers Desk probably mid Atlantic states around 1820-30. Large bottle drawers on either side of a nicely fi...
Mahogany
$2,044
H 31.89 in W 39.77 in D 20.08 in
Small french two-door Cabinet with extractable side leafs in wood, 1970's
Located in Uithoorn, NL
Lovely artisanal two-door sideboard wit diamond feet. Lovely blonde almost yellow wood that has stayed very good over the years. Pretty handy too with those extractable leafs that en...
Bakelite, Wood
$4,295 / set
H 27.69 in W 35.38 in D 17 in
Pair of Danish Modern Teak Sliding Door Cabinets by Lyby Mobler
By Lyby Mobler, Kai Kristiansen, Laurits M. Larsen, Arne Vodder
Located in Chattanooga, TN
This pair of modular teak cabinets from Lyby Mobler exemplifies the thoughtful engineering and aesthetic restraint at the heart of Danish modernism. Designed as flexible components i...
Teak
$1,320Sale Price|20% Off
H 83.5 in W 43 in D 21.25 in
Antique Eastlake Victorian Walnut Secretary Desk C1880
Located in Big Flats, NY
Antique Eastlake Victorian Walnut Secretary Desk C1880 Measures - 83 1/2" x 43" x 21 1/4" An Eastlake Victorian secretary desk from circa 18...
Walnut