Objects · people · ideas

Materials & techniques

What furniture is made from, and how it is made.

12 entries

A B32 cantilever chair with cane panels in dark bentwood seat and back frames, carried by a continuous tubular steel base.

Cantilever chair construction

Follow the load through a cantilever chair, from early rigid gas pipes to curved springing steel and the different work done by seat, frame and floor.

A dark cast-iron bench has an openwork back of repeated curved shapes, a perforated seat and densely ornamented arms and legs.

Technique

Cast-iron garden furniture

Read the leaves, gaps and repeated patterns of cast-iron garden seats, from an American museum bench to Coalbrookdale’s Oak and Ivy design.

A partly deflated clear vinyl armchair rests on an empty worktable, its rounded envelope sagging while the separate seat remains visible.

Technique

Conserving plastic furniture

Why conserving an inflatable chair or beanbag means understanding skins, seams and fillers—and deciding which evidence matters.

Technique

Marquetry

See how marquetry turns thin veneers and other fitted materials into an image, why grain changes the drawing and how one cut can produce two reversed patterns.

Belter sofa with a pierced rosewood crest and red modern upholstery framed by elaborate carving.

Technique

Moulded plywood

Follow moulded plywood from ornate Belter furniture to wartime splints and aircraft, and see how thin layers allow wood to take a manufactured curve.

Paper strips, progressively twisted cord, a spool, foundation wraps and a dense woven seat are arranged across a workshop table.

Material

Paper cord

See how thin paper becomes twisted cord, how a weaver turns tension into a chair seat, and why patina and repair belong to the material's life.

A small green shagreen-covered case lies above a folded ivory ruler, showing the difference between the textured covering and the smooth instrument.

Technique

Shagreen covering

Explore shagreen through a folding ruler’s case, Jean-Michel Frank’s desk and the distinction between artificially grained hide and ray or shark skin.

A black-and-white photograph of a desk with two sliding tambour fronts above a broad chest of drawers.

Technique

Tambour doors

Understand tambour doors through narrow slats, flexible backing and curved tracks, with American desks showing how movement changes a cabinet.

A demonstration seat frame exposes webbing, short springs, coarse cloth and hair padding beneath a partly folded white cover.

Technique

Traditional stitched upholstery

Look beneath the cover to see how webbing, springs, hair and stitching shape a seat, and why old upholstery can preserve valuable evidence.

Japanese export cabinet open, with its fall front lowered beneath drawers and a central arched compartment.

Technique

Urushi lacquering

Discover how urushi begins with cultivated trees, cures in humid conditions and becomes a ground for gold and shell on Japanese lacquered furniture.

A tall mahogany desk and bookcase with two glazed towers connected by a rectangular desk, leaving open space that forms an H-shaped front.

Technique

Verre églomisé

See how verre églomisé puts decoration behind glass, why its making works in reverse, and how a chair or cabinet can turn that surface into a personal statement.

A close view separates the thick curved chair frame, narrow interlaced strands and tight wrapping around a joint.

Technique

Wicker weaving

Learn to distinguish wicker weaving from its materials, then follow woven furniture through household catalogues, the Dryad business and a global craft collection.