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
$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
$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
$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
$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
$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
$2,316Sale Price|20% Off
H 28 in W 48 in D 17.75 in
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
1960s cabinet with sliding doors
By Non-Standard Furniture and Lighting
Located in Milano, IT
Sliding door cabinet made of mahogany veneer and smoked glass, profiles are brass-plated aluminum.
Aluminum
Swedish 3 Door Cabinet - Nordens Flora Illustrations
By Josef Frank, Svenskt Tenn
Located in Stockholm, SE
A Swedish three-door sideboard or cabinet, circa 1950s. The cabinet features clean lines and a balanced interior layout behind two doors, opening to separate compartments. One compar...
Birch, Paper
$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
$2,195
H 27.62 in W 35.75 in D 17 in
Danish Modern Teak Sliding Door Cabinet by Lyby Møbler, 1960s, Denmark
By Laurits M. Larsen, Arne Vodder, Lyby Mobler, Kai Kristiansen
Located in Chattanooga, TN
A refined statement of Danish craftsmanship, this teak sliding-door cabinet by Lyby Møbler captures the quiet sophistication that defines Scandinavian modern design. Its minimalist f...
Teak
$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 Arne Vodder, Laurits M. Larsen, Lyby Mobler, Kai Kristiansen
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
$10,218 / 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
Axel Larsson Designed Bodafors Desk Cabinet Stunning
By Axel Larsson, SMF Svenska Möbelfabriken Bodafors
Located in New York, NY
This Swedish Modern cabinet was designed by Axel Larsson (1898-1975). It has a drop-down writing flap and has a lock and key (key included). The cabinet has birch & oak wood, and...
Birch, Oak
$2,108
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
CraftAssociates Credenza, Peabody Modern Walnut Credenza, Cane
By Lawrence Peabody, Craft Associates
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
$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, Florence Knoll, George Nelson, 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