Moran Woodworked Furniture

Detailed measurements: 132" (11') long 44" wide 30" high tabletop is expected to be about 7/8" thick Each base pillar is 14" wide Along the floor, the base is 32" wide Each brass foo...

One of a kind. A river of molten gold flowing along the base of a canyon of irregular and undulating Walnut cliffs. With its live edges turned inwards, this single, wide bookmatch of...

Scaled to function as either a side table or petite coffee table, this sustainably sourced redwood root and walnut piece celebrates the beauty of decades of growth documented, written into the wood’s grain, through whorls, flecking, tiny knot eyes and voids, like a topographical map. With a veritable firework display of interwoven grain pattern, color and organic lines, the qualities of this small slab of live edged redwood are framed as cleanly and elegantly as possible to allow the top to remain an essential focal point. Two squared edges have been introduced into the riot of movement of the root structure, offering some juxtaposition to the beautiful, naturally lobed shape. We’ve hand-turned, stepped and finely tapered four ’crayon' legs in sustainable, salvaged Hudson Valley walnut, whose dark hue sets off the warm russets of the redwood. The giant redwoods were decimated by decades of intense logging and development until finally national protection intervened. Since unlike the rest of the wood we work with, we aren’t personally present for the stump to slab transition for the redwood we use, finding an ethical, sustainable Californian company who would mange and be sensitive to the intricacy of Redwood burl removal, from long-dead stumps out of hundred year old logging operations on private, never public, land, was essential. And having found those individuals, we feel privileged to be able to use redwood sparingly in the context of our work. A piece like this can be customized to fit your space. Most of the pieces we create at Moran Woodworked Furniture...

Detailed measurements: 132" (11') long 44" wide 30" high tabletop is expected to be about 7/8" thick Each base pillar is 14" wide Along the floor, the base is 32" wide Each brass foo...

One of a kind. A river of molten gold flowing along the base of a canyon of irregular and undulating Walnut cliffs. With its live edges turned inwards, this single, wide bookmatch of Walnut generates a window of negative space filled with brass inlay. Whorls of mirrored grain from deepest, darkest heartwood to palest cream sapwood capture the beauty which underlies the growth history of a single tree, the doubling, bookmatching of these patterns, as in an inkblot test, generates near-symmetrical apparitions. Six handcut and hand-set Walnut butterflies support the tabletop asymmetrically The modified trestle base has handcut wedged through tenon joints connecting a high center bar set up against the underside of the tabletop, which removes its possible interference with knees or chairs. Single board pillars support a sharply geometric base design with long, solid hand-set brass bar 'feet' pinned traditionally with handmade brass pins. The table very comfortably fits 8 chairs, but can accommodate additional place settings depending on the size of the selected chairs. Underlying the selection of materials is the juxtaposition between the dark wood and the bright brass, which is un-lacquered to patina over time but, upon request, can be clear coated for permanent brightness. In a glade of ferns, the Walnut tree which provided the striking bookmatch at the center of this table grew just a few miles away from our Hudson Valley workshop; through what is generally termed 'urban salvage', or perhaps 'countryside salvage' in our case, we kept this tree from a fire-wood fate. Detailed measurements: 109" (9'1") long 37 3/4" wide 29 3/4" high tabletop is 1 1/8" thick Each base pillar is 13 1/2" wide Along the floor, the base is 31 1/2" wide Each brass foot is 1 1/2" by 1/2" bar Between the two pillars is 78" long There is a 16" overhang on each end There is a 12" overhang on each long side The crevice of brass is about 1" at its widest point All our dining tables are one-off designs where the wood’s story and individuality are celebrated; curating the placement of book matches, mirror reflections of grain is the center piece of our work, and certainly is the case in our tables. Clarity of shape for the base meets wide expanses of matched wood on the top, setting up a compelling interweaving of design and wild, undulating grain movement. The history of each tree is written into its grain; we chose to frame and display this history in clear, streamlined compositions. A table with similar design notations and material placement can be customized for your space with unique bookmatches and a scale fit to your home or office. Please be in touch with us if you would like to discuss custom work. Most of the pieces we create at Moran Woodworked Furniture...

Things I've found, things that have found me 6. The lightning struck branches of this Poplar came to Moran via an old friend and former professor. The unique pale white and light mossy green color already inherent in Poplar contrasted with the char of a lightning strike has intrigued him for years. This first piece created with the wood is driven by the contrast of natural lines and human made lines; the shapes we make, the shapes nature makes and the tension between them. The graphic pale Poplar with its natural lighting charred center is framed in mitered Cherry with a hand-rubbed tung oil finish and set off against a matte black hand-painted surround. Every element of Moran's sculptures and frames are made by him in his workshop in New York's Hudson Valley. To date, there are seven unique works in this series, of which this is number six. Please be in touch for images of the entire series. Five of the seven sculptures are pictured in the last slideshow image. Things I've Found, Things That Have Found Me has manifested as an ever growing collection of works, nicknamed Lignum Novis which roughly translates to unique or odd wood. Each piece, though presented in the same Cherry framed format, is a combination of exploration, adaptation, simple surprise and adoration of the characteristics of wood. Through framing, curious moments of arboreal happenstance are set apart. Whether it is painstakingly carving a rounded band out of a single block of Cherry, finding pleasing shape and design in lightning struck Poplar or simply being awed by the traces of new limb growth left encased in the grain of an old Chestnut Oak, each piece has both been found and found me. Weaving, inverting, book-matching, layering and framing become an act of contemplation in Michael James Moran...

The circular top on this one of a kind coffee table is a single bookmatched board of South Carolina Walnut with a subtle beveled edge and a line of pale new growth sapwood down its center. The four hand-turned and tapered legs are bound with a band of bright copper, which is hand set through each leg and fixed in place traditionally with small copper pins. The un-lacquered copper will patina with age or can be polished to shine in juxtaposition to the mellow Walnut. A piece like this can be customized to fit your space. Please be in touch with us if you would like to discuss custom work. Most of the pieces we create at Moran Woodworked Furniture...

One of a kind. Two large sliding flat panel doors are the centerpiece for this Hudson Valley walnut cabinet; bookmatched flames radiating inwards are set off by two arches of pale sapwood. On the rear door, a bright but subtle moment of copper points, a triangle scaled for a single finger to swipe open and reveal the cabinet’s contents. Wonderfully, inverting the doors reveals a second bookmatch with the darkest heartwood at its centre and flaming grain now moving outward towards the sapwood edges. A single board of curly Walnut wraps the mitered case, which, with a narrow thumbnail of shadow, sits a top the faceted leg base. The interior divide is fixed in the case with two full-depth sliding dovetails left exposed on the back of the cabinet. Each of the six legs is cut with tapering angles so the foot narrows to a small triangle, or in the case of the center two legs, a compelling pentagon. On the interior, the right side is set with an adjustable walnut shelf; the left side is currently open but can have an adjustable shelf added if you desire. A similar piece can be customized for your space with unique bookmatches and a scale fit to your home. Please be in touch with us if you would like to discuss custom work. Most of the pieces we create at Moran Woodworked Furniture...

With a wide expanse of wood grain on show, the shovel’s broad blade is unique among our tools as it expresses the sweeping fluidity of grain movement, from the solid, almost black pi...

Juxtaposition. Curve with angles. Dark with light. Mass with void. Strength in design lies in the ability to create opposition and tension without becoming incongruous. The central p...

Two Sisters End Table, Edition of 8. Each Chestnut Oak case is comprised of an inch thick single board, which, with mitered corners, wraps around each piece. Every knot and whorl is carefully considered as we select the orientation of the board given the scale of the design. Hand-turned and tapered legs and drawer pull in deepest Black Walnut compliment the warmth of the Oak. Each drawer, gliding along on ball bearing slides, is built in solid Oak with an accent panel of Walnut as the drawer bottom. Use a pair along side of the bed or one next to your favorite reading chair. Quercus prinus. Perched over the Patomic, two sisters built twin houses, one in red brick and the other in white. Around them and between them was Chestnut Oak after Chestnut Oak. But the passing years have taken a toll on those trees, and the landscape no longer looks quite the same as it did in the 1930s when those two sister's had their architect hand draw portraits of the houses and the land in which they were settled. Now my parents own one of those twin houses. And when one of the last those giant Chestnut Oaks began to die, we were their first call. Please be in touch with us if you would like to discuss custom work. Many of the pieces we create at Moran Woodworked Furniture...

If no other tool resides in one’s home, it is the necessary, the ubiquitous carpenter’s hammer. Hand-carved from a solid piece of Black Walnut from the smooth arc of the forked claw ...