What goes into sourcing timber for the finest waney edge slabs?

Sourcing Timber: The Art Of The Hunt

Sourcing exquisite timber is paramount in creating our signature waney-edge dining tables. Our commitment to quality and craftsmanship drives us to go the extra mile in finding the perfect wood for each unique piece – and the extra mile often leads us to continental Europe. In this blog post, we invite you to explore our world and understand how we source and transform rough diamonds into works of art.

We invest time researching, visiting remote mills, and establishing connections with trusted suppliers. Timber, like any other crop, is cultivated for maximum bulk and uniformity so that the modern commercial sawmills can mill in the most efficient fashion. However, commercial forestry goals don’t always align with our artisanal needs as so many details are removed in the pursuit of speed (and profit). Throughout the life cycle of trees, they are managed to prioritise many criteria such as growth rate, straightness, and minimal branching etc. Unique characteristics such as movement, excessive branching, or slower growth are often seen as defects and removed. However, we value and celebrate these unique characteristics in our live-edge tables, so it’s so important to source by eye for every single piece we craft.

Our job is to uncover hidden gems with unconventional beauty. With over a decade of experience, we appreciate that our creative journey begins with selecting raw materials. When we unveil these raw boards to our clients, their initial reaction is often a gasp of disbelief, struggling to comprehend how we transform rough pieces of wood into exquisite tables. While our chapter begins at the sawmill, it’s essential to recognise the incredible individuals whose chapter ends here – the family run sawmills and the forestry team before them.

Each mill visit always leaves us with immense admiration for their skills and deep respect for the timber that binds us together. By establishing strong relationships with these mills, we have direct access to their kiln-dried stock, handpicking only the finest boards for our bespoke tables. This ensures exceptional quality and craftsmanship in each piece we create.

Leveraging our expertise in identifying standout boards, we skillfully highlight their unique characteristics, allowing clients to witness the remarkable beauty that lies beneath the surface. Transparency is woven into every step of our process. We engage our customers in every aspect, from sharing stories about timber origins to involving them in the design process, fostering a deep connection between clients and the natural materials we work with.

As we source timber for our furniture, we embrace the understanding that no two pieces will ever be identical, yet each holds its own distinct beauty. Selecting and procuring wood allows us to discover hidden treasures within. Each log tells a story, and it is our role as artisans to bring that story to life in a tangible and meaningful way.

Once kiln dried, our skilled craftsmen shape and craft the table with precision, considering the unique features and contours of the wood. Attention to detail is paramount, from the smoothness of the table’s surface to the perfect alignment of the live edges. Our craftsmen bring their expertise and passion to exceed our clients’ expectations. Throughout the creation process, we pay close attention to every detail, setting us apart and allowing us to create exceptional pieces. A protective finish enhances the wood’s natural beauty and ensures long-lasting durability. This step adds a lustrous sheen and safeguards the table against everyday wear and tear, ensuring enjoyment for generations to come.

In conclusion, sourcing timber is a labour of love and a critical part of our creative process. We journey across Europe in search of hidden treasures with the unique character and beauty we value. By prioritising craftsmanship, attention to detail, and establishing close relationships with trusted suppliers, we create remarkable works of art.

Toby Hardman In Advice, Pre-Purchase, Timber

Why Buy a Bespoke, Live Edge Dining Table?

For those who appreciate the finer things in life, a bespoke live edge dining table is a stunning addition to your home. At L’Atelier Mata, we specialize in crafting one-of-a-kind pieces that exude luxury and sophistication. In this blog, we will showcase the numerous merits of owning a bespoke live edge dining table. We will also see why it is the perfect choice for your home. Here are a the key points:

1. Creative Spirit

Every live edge dining tables is a work of art, showcasing the grain, texture, and beauty of the hardwoods. With a bespoke design, you can ensure that your dining table is a reflection of your own taste and style. Whether you prefer a contemporary or rustic aesthetic, our live edge tables will make a statement in your dining room.

2. Natural Beauty

Our design process aims to highlight the natural beauty of the wood, bringing the essence of the outdoors into your home. From the knots and grains to the imperfections, each piece is a celebration of nature’s artistry. The organic quality of the wood creates an ambiance of warmth and elegance in your dining room, making it the ideal setting for intimate gatherings or grand entertaining.

3. Built to Endure

Crafted from premium hardwoods such as maple, oak, and walnut, our live edge dining tables are renowned for their durability and resistance to wear and tear. This makes them a valuable investment for your home, providing years of enjoyment and use. Whether you have young children or regularly entertain guests, these dining tables are built to stand the test of time.

4. Functionality + Opulence

At L’Atelier Mata, we believe in creating furniture that combines functionality with opulence. Our bespoke pieces offer both, with their natural curves providing a comfortable and ergonomic seating experience, and the ability to tailor the size and shape to your requirements. Whether you need a table to seat 6 or 14, our live edge dining tables are the perfect choice for the discerning entertainer.

5. An Eco-Conscious Choice

In addition to their exceptional design and quality, our live edge dining tables are also an eco-conscious choice. Made from sustainably sourced wood, they reduce the carbon footprint associated with production and transportation. Furthermore, we use only the finest eco-friendly finishing products, further reducing our impact on the environment. By working with us on your dining table project, you can indulge in luxury while also making a positive impact on the planet.

At L’Atelier Mata, our heart and soul is invested in making furniture that is sustainable, luxurious and sophisticated. This style of furniture is here to stay and we hope this blog has highlighted a few of the reasons why. Feel free to browse our collection and drop us a line if you have any questions.

Toby Hardman In Advice, Design, Timber

What reclaimed wood do we use in our furniture?

Rustic reclaimed wood dining table with metal legs. Sustainable dining table made from reclaimed wood

Reclaimed wood has hit the big time in the furniture world, and for good reason. As Ikea continues to take the world by storm, a certain section of the market is reacting by demanding more character, more individuality in their furniture, which reclaimed is guaranteed to provide. But what does it all mean? How do you know you’re still getting a quality piece of wood?

What is reclaimed wood?

‘Reclaimed’ simply means that the wood has been repurposed or salvaged from another use. Typically this includes floorboards, old beams, barn cladding, railway sleepers, or pallets.

In our case, we stumbled right on a pile of wood just crying out to be rescued, at the foot of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. We’d been contacted by a bunch of architectural salvage guys, who had stripped the flooring from a group of decommissioned boxcar freight trains and were hunting for a buyer. We, quite gladly, snapped it up.

Boxcar Timber

Boxcar trains became popular in the early 1900s (you’ll recognise them from Western movies – or the opening sequence of Toy Story 3, if you’re a little younger!), when the iconic design became instrumental in shipping all kinds of large items up and down the American railroads. The wildly everchanging weather across the state lines meant that the previous flatbed style of transportation swiftly needed to grow a few more walls to keep everything safely protected! Enter: The Box Car.

To us, the floorboards taken from these trains are simply majestic. Each board is at least 50mm thick, with rich scarring, indentations and bolt holes that secured the flooring to the chassis. When raw and untouched, you’d never know the beauty underneath; they’re so utterly covered in a thick layer of grime, but a quick sand will reveal all of their secrets.

Quality Still Matters

In the boom of reclaimed, it’s important to consider the quality of the wood – just as you would with anything new. Unlike railway sleepers, or some external timber cladding that you often see used for reclaimed furniture – boxcar wood is as dry as any other furniture grade timber. This means that there’s less risk of the wood twisting and cracking over time once it’s in your home – so it’ll last as long as you want it to.

Discover the Character

The second thing that we like to keep in mind is the character ingrained in the wood. Not all reclaimed timber is created equal – and although old oak beams may be aged by time, they’re a little lacking in their ability to tell a good story. We fell in love with Boxcar wood because it’s been through decades of hard work – and it shows it. It’s as if it’s speaking a language that you’re desperate to understand, and yet unable to translate – which we believe is a non-negotiable feature for reclaimed wood.

For all of our Boxcar tables, just take a browse around our shop – there are finished pieces to check out, or simply get in touch to ask for a bespoke quotation.

If you have any questions at all, take a look at our FAQS, or feel free to contact us.

Toby Hardman In Advice

How to choose the right dining table for your home

If you’re freaking out about how to choose the right dining table, we understand. This is, after all, the place your family will gather every evening to go over their days or do their homework. It’s the spot you’ll choose to complete an epic crafting project with your kids; or simply sit with a cup of coffee and a magazine when the house is empty. It’ll be privy to gossip with your friends, or discussions with your other half.

The dining table, whether we realise it or not, so often tends to be the anchor point of the home, and following this easy guide will make sure you get it just perfect.

Step 1: Measure the dimensions of your room

Before you even start thinking about the design of your dining table, you’re going to need to know how much space you have to play with. Measure the available floor space (make sure you don’t include sideboards or any other furniture), and minus 90cm from each side to enable people to push their chairs back comfortably – now you have your maximum table size. Each person will need about 60cm of space down the sides, plus an extra 30cm if you’re planning on seating someone at each end, so you can also figure out how many people you’re able to host.

Step 2: Decide on the tones and colours you want to see

It’s not your job to know exactly what wood variety you want; that’s down to us. However, you will need to give us a little guiding light in terms of colour. Would you prefer something more golden (Oak / Ash), or milk chocolatey (English Walnut)? How about a deep, rich, purple-brown (American Black Walnut)? Do you have other wooden furniture you’d like it to complement? The more information you can provide, the quicker we can find the timber that’s right for you.

Unique burl hornbeam live edge dining table Handmade live edge dining table with hornbeam burl top

Step 3: Pinpoint the shape and style you prefer

If you think straight cut edges would work better for your young family; no problem! If you like a gentle, undulating live edge then we’ll find a slab that fits the mould – or we can source a piece of wood with a more exaggerated shape. If beaten up, reclaimed wood is your jam, we’ll build you something with real character – or we can find an almost-perfect piece of wood to work on. The finer details are often strongly led by the wood itself, but we can make sure you get the style of table you want.

Step 4: Consider your leg options

It may seem like an impossible task, but choosing the right legs is just as important as choosing the right table top. We offer a wide range of individual legs and table frame styles to choose from, in a multitude of different finishes, but we also have the ability to fabricate something bespoke. As before, it’s best to consider all of the functional aspect first, like how many chairs you’ll need to fit around the table – and even access into your house – before you move on to colours and shapes. The fun part comes later!

Step 5: Choose the right chairs for your dining table

Thanks to Step 1, you know exactly how many people are going to be seated at your new dining table, and how much space you can allocate per person – so you know the maximum width of chairs you can buy. We craft all of our tables – unless instructed otherwise – to the standard height of 75cm. You want a 30cm difference between the seat height and the table height, so your dining chairs should be about 45cm from floor to seat. Consider the table legs you’ve chosen: do you want to match the finish, or do you need to be aware of bars running vertically, or across the floor?

Once we’ve nailed down all of that – you just have to sit back and wait for delivery day. Or, even better, take a look at our finished pieces and check if one of them fits your criteria. Remember – leg design is step 4 for a reason, and we can always swap the base out for something different. And, just like that, the question of how to choose the right dining table becomes a little easier to deal with!

If you have any questions at all, take a look at our FAQS, or feel free to contact us.

Toby Hardman In Advice

What is the best shape for a dining table?

So you’ve decided your dining area is particularly special (it is), and it needs an extra special dining table to boot. But how do you know which dining table shape is right for you and your space?

As the dining table itself is the focal feature of a dining room, it’s important to select one that not only suits the space, but also your lifestyle. At Wicked we can create all sorts of sizes, styles and shapes. All you have to do is decide which is best for you…

French Walnut with Internal Live Edge

Shape No. 1

Rectangle

This is the most celebrated dining table shape – and for good reason. Its lengthy, tight structure is perfect for entertaining on a large scale, famously with hosts positioned at each end.

The linear shape of a rectangular dining table readily fits into most dining areas and is easily the most accommodating shape for most living areas. In smaller dining rooms, when not in use, a rectangular table can be pushed against the wall, but if you have a really narrow dining area, choose long dining benches instead of dining chairs to free up space. These can be tucked under the table when not in use.

A rectangular table is usually between 90cm to 107cm wide. Narrower tables can work well in a tight space, but if the table is any narrower than 90cm, you may find it tough to fit place settings as well as food onto the table.

Though the most popular of shapes, the humble rectangle can be beautified with unique features. When we create our bespoke tables we ask customers how they envision their one-of-a-kind table. A rectangular table can be brought to life with an exciting external or internal live edge, which harks back to the beauty of the tree itself.

Shape No. 2

Square

Square dining tables are the perfect shape for smaller spaces where the table serves many purposes. If there are two to four people in your household, a square table is a great choice.

This shape helps to create a sense of balance and symmetry in a dining area. Celebrating contemporary style, this look can be enhanced further by using chrome and copper pedestals, and by pairing the table with matching hardwood benches. A square table creates an intimate atmosphere, making it perfect for small scale dinner parties and romantic nights in. It can be jarring to have a large rectangular table when there are only two or three people present for most of your meals whereas a square table is warm and inviting.

American Black Walnut

Pippy Oak Dining Table

Shape No. 3

Oval

If you’re mulling over whether a rectangular or a square dining table is best for your space, perhaps the oval is your answer. An oval table combines the linear design of a rectangular table with the closeness and flexibility of a round table. If your area is made up of many straight lines and edges, the curves of an oval table will help soften your interior to make it more intimate and inviting. The curved edges make it great in small spaces too and can be incorporated into smaller dining areas with ease.

If you’re looking to highlight the soft nature of an oval table, it is always a good choice to combine chairs that feature similar characteristics.

Rather than table legs, a central pedestal base is a fantastic choice if you’re aiming for a sculptural and sophisticated décor. This draws attention to the decorative qualities of the oval shape as well as freeing up space for all of your guests to get tucked under that table and ready to eat.

Shape No. 4

Round

A round dining table is perfect for the hosts among us – by keeping everyone at the same distance from each other, this shape is great for creating an energetic and social atmosphere . A table with no corners is great for 2 reasons (3 if we count the kids not being able to run into them) – firstly, you can seat the maximum number of guests possible and secondly, from a style perspective, the curvature adds some shape variety to a room that is big and rectangular which livens a living space.

Opt for a pedestal base – these offer the most leg room, so your guests won’t need to compete with uncomfortably placed table legs.

A round table equals a more casual dining experience. An added benefit is that there is no need to fret when you have an uneven number of guests. If you’re used to people turning up unannounced when your signature dish is in the oven, then a round table is perfect for you.

uk dining table

What goes into sourcing timber for the finest waney edge slabs?

Sourcing Timber: The Art Of The Hunt

Why Buy a Bespoke, Live Edge Dining Table?

What reclaimed wood do we use in our furniture?

What is reclaimed wood?

Boxcar Timber

Quality Still Matters

Discover the Character

How to choose the right dining table for your home

Step 1: Measure the dimensions of your room

Step 2: Decide on the tones and colours you want to see

Step 3: Pinpoint the shape and style you prefer

Step 4: Consider your leg options

Step 5: Choose the right chairs for your dining table

What is the best shape for a dining table?

So you’ve decided your dining area is particularly special (it is), and it needs an extra special dining table to boot. But how do you know which dining table shape is right for you and your space?

As the dining table itself is the focal feature of a dining room, it’s important to select one that not only suits the space, but also your lifestyle. At Wicked we can create all sorts of sizes, styles and shapes. All you have to do is decide which is best for you…

French Walnut with Internal Live Edge

Shape No. 1

Rectangle

Shape No. 2

Square

American Black Walnut

Pippy Oak Dining Table

Shape No. 3

Oval

Shape No. 4

Round

American Black Walnut

So what shape dining table is best for you? Which shape is best for your space?

If you’re still scratching your head, why not give us a ring on 020 8432 3266 or email us at info@lateliermata.com

Have a good idea of what you’re looking for? Head on over to our Get a Quote page or mosey on over to our Shop for some inspiration.