TRUMAN - Bedside Table
TRUMAN is a compact bedside table handmade in solid English elm, with a single dovetailed drawer running on solid wooden runners and a bog oak pull for a subtle point of contrast. Open lower stretchers keep the design light and airy, making it equally suited to a bedroom or as a slim side table elsewhere in the home.
I designed Truman for the moments either side of the day - somewhere to set down a book, a glass of water, a watch - so it needed to feel unfussy but still have real substance to it. Elm was the obvious choice: it has this lovely, warm grain that gives life the surface, and given its natural variation no two boards turn out quite the same.
The drawer is where I spent most of my time. It's cut with traditional dovetails by hand, back and front, the hallmark of quality furniture. Rather than reach for metal runners I've fitted solid wooden ones, built into the frame of the table - the way it would have been done a century ago.
That little bog oak pull is a favourite detail of mine. Bog oak is harvested from timber that's been submerged in peat bogs for centuries, sometimes thousands of years, and comes out almost black — so it gives a nice, dark punctuation mark against the warmth of the elm. It's a small thing, but it's the kind of detail I think you notice every time you open the drawer.
Dimensions
Materials
Solid English Elm frame and drawer with a bog oak drawer pull
