British hardwoods and softwoods

Species including but not limited to ash, sweet chestnut, sycamore, prime oak, pippy oak, brown oak, elm, cedar of lebanon and douglas fir.

My go to supplier for UK grown stock is Vastern Timber – a fantastic saw mill in the South West supporting British forestry and stocking regionally sourced timber, including some from Frome’s nearby Longleat Estate.

Contact me to discuss timber selection for your project or to view samples.

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Paint in any colour / brand

I have had good experiences with Little & Greene, Farrow & Ball, Atelier Ellis, Lick, Earthborn, Annie Sloan, and others.

I am able to test colour options on 3D models . Contact me to discuss early stage design ideas and mock up some colour options.

For painted joinery, I use solid PEFC certified Finnish pine, or occasionally tulipwood.

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Reclaimed timber / upcycled units / scaffold planks / other

A central plank of sustainability (pun intended), is making use of the wood we have, so I’ve always been keen on reclaimed materials where possible.

There is a lot of variety depending on when and where material is sourced. I have previously used timber from BWRP (Bristol Wood Recycling Project), Frome’s own Scaff Shop and Frome Rec.

In this project I repurposed some antique doors from Frome rec and got the mouldings from BWRP. I’ve also made new fronts and retained the existing units to give them a new lease of life, such as this example.

Contact me to discuss the usage of reclaimed timber for your project or to view samples.

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Birch plywood

Made from layers, or plies, each about 1.4mm thick. This is thicker than veneer which is typically 0.6mm. The grain direction alternates for each layer to ensure the panel is stong across both the width and length.

I began this business on birch plywood. I still enjoy the subtle figuring of the grain, and the modern yet warm & humane aesthetic it enables. Back when I first started doing this in 2018 an 8’x4′ sheet of 18mm birch could be got for close to £40, now however, it’s closer to £100. Much of this increase happened due to sanctions on Russia, where the supply of birch logs largely came from. The supply now comes from other countries like Latvia. Every now and again I do still have an issue getting hold of some.

Since the increased volatility of the birch plywood market, I have diversified my offering, and taken this as an opportunity to explore the potential of wood grown closer to home, which environmentally is a good thing anyway. But, I still do plywood projects where the occasion calls! And there are some situations where it is undeniably useful due to its strength (especially for wide, thin panels such as cabinet backs and drawer bases) and for its large format.

I usually finish it with Osmo, a hardwax oil which enables a variety of tints. A clear finish will give a much warmer tone, and accentuate the stripes on the end grain. Then there are white tinted versions for a much paler and muted effect – and everything in between. Oak veneered plywood with a birch core is also available (that’s real oak not ‘oak effect’). The most popular choices are shown in the slideshow. Contact me to discuss plywood options for your project or to view samples.

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Standard stave / full stave worktops & upstands

For a statement worktop using wide boards, then I will buy rough sawn boards, plane them and joint them together. It’s also worth considering reclaimed, I have previously used iroko from salvaged school science lab desks.

There are also off-the-shelf wooden worktops available which are made up of smaller pieces or ‘staves’. These staves are about 40mm wide and 200-400mm long. Oak, being the most popular species, has a few more options. It is available with wider staves (depending where you go, up to about 75mm wide) that run the full length of the worktop.

Some people consider the smaller staves less aesthetically pleasing, but larger staves generally increase the cost, so you pays your money you takes your choice as they say. What I would say is, from a purely technical point of view, smaller staved worktops work just fine. They are a sensible way to make use of shorter lengths of timber which are too small for other applications, and wider planks are actually more prone to cupping.

People often worry about maintaining wooden worktops, especially around the sink and taps. In my own kitchen, I used oak and made a small solid surface insert which the taps are mounted to. This means that you have a completley impermeable material around the most vulnerable area. I have also been experimenting with ebonised oak as below.

Contact me if you’d like to discuss the ins and outs of wood worktops in more detail.

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Ebonised oak worktops & splashbacks

The dark stains you sometimes see on worktops where they have gotten repeatedly too wet are caused by tannins being released in the wood. It got me thinking about ebonising – a traditional process which deliberately uses tannins for visual effect. By essentially pre-staining the wood, it can then can’t get much more stained by the water!

You soak steel wool in vinegar, which creates an iron acetate solution. This then reacts with the tannins in the wood and turns it black, like ebony, hence the name. It only works on tannin rich species such as oak. Ebonising by itself doesn’t seal the wood, it still needs a clear coat of oil on top.

Contact me if you’d like to discuss ebonised wood for your worktop, or to see samples.

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Foresso (original) ‘timber terrazzo’ worktops & splashbacks

Foresso is made by Low Carbon Industrial. It is a handmade panel “composed of offcut British timber and planing waste sourced from local sawmills, in a pigmented plaster waste and resin binder”. The foresso layer is 6mm thick and is very durable. It is formed on top of 18mm birch plywood making foresso 24mm thick overall.

You can see an example of it on a splashback I did here. It comes in a few standard sized sheets, or they have a good cut to size service which minimises waste, and makes smaller projects feasible.

Contact me if you’d like to discuss foresso for your worktop, or to see my sample collection.

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Foresso (with subtle fleck) aka ‘no-chip’

The orginal foresso above has a very distinctive pattern, which isn’t going to fit with every interior. In response to this Low Carbon Industrial have created a version called ‘no-chip’ with more of a subtle fleck, rather than the large chips/flakes which create the terazzo effect. To create the fleck they use their own dust extraction waste as an input. I used no-chip in ‘Pewter’ in my very own kitchen – I love it and it’s holding up great.

Contact me if you’d like to discuss no-chip for your worktop, or to see my sample collection.

Note: Low Carbon Industrial do not recommend the use of Foresso or No-chip with an undermounted sink, because the edge of the plywood substrate will be too exposed around the sink cut out.

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Quartz / Stone / Marble / Granite etc

The single toughest nut to crack when using wood for worktops is what to do around sinks. For this reason I am offering ebonised worktops (to resist tannin stains), and wooden worktops with inlays where the taps are mounted (which is the most vulnerable area). If occasionally re-oiled, there’s no reason wooden worktops can’t stay in good condition.

However, in certain situations, you may wish for something completely impermeable.

In these instances you are welcome to go to a third party supplier for stone/quartz etc. I have worked with Bath Marble & Granite on many occasions. I am happy to provide drawings for them to quote off, and it is straightforward for them to come and do their digital templating once the base cabinets are fitted.

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Edge laminated solid pine panels / knotless panels

STOP! I know what you’re thinking. You’ve been traumatised by cheap pine furniture from the 80s and 90s, with dark knots, and varnished to a deep amber hue. Although the alpine lodge aesthetic has its place, that’s not what I’m about.

Especially since the disruptions to the plywood supply chain, pine is now, in my opinion, a great option for workaday carcass construction if using solid wood and avoiding the likes of melamine faced chipboard. It also paints well. I use solid PEFC certified Finnish pine.

For cabinet interiors and drawer boxes my default finish for pine is Osmo 3111 (white transparent), which keeps it very light and visually subtle but still natural feeling – call it Scandi if you like.

Knotless pine boards are also available, which are beautiful, and can be used if preferred, or even as doors with the grain on show.

Contact me if you’d like to discuss solid wood cabinets, or to see samples of these materials.

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Factory laquered birch plywood

Birch plywood is available off the shelf in a pre-finished variety. This solves the problem with using standard birch for kitchen units in that it creates a lot of area that requires hand finishing.

Contact me if you’d like to discuss plywood cabinets, or to see samples of this material.

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Upcycled units

In line with my approach incorporating reclaimed timber I also am happy to make use of existing units where possible.

Sometimes in a remodel, you find yourself stripping out units which still have some life left in them, and don’t need to go in a skip just yet.

I can make new doors and drawer fronts for situations where a kitchen is basically ok behind the scenes, but perhaps needs updating.

Contact me if you’d like to discuss this kind of kitchen remodel.

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