The Fundamental Elements of Woodworking

What is furniture anyway? It means many things to many people for sure. And how the word furniture is employed can also have many meanings as well. Design, functionality, form, craftsmanship are some of the things that come to mind. But is it furniture? Well that all depends on what the eye sees.

I am once again in London,England for a few days. After a along flight, I decided to take a walk along theThames. When here visiting a good friend and fellow rower I decided a good point to begin a walk around town would be at the Putney Town Rowing Club boathouse. As I approached the boathouse parking lot, there it was, a piece of furniture. The first time I saw it was this summer while here for the Olympics. I had walked by it several times until, in a moment, a particular detail stared out at me.

The furniture? What was it? A rowing scull. A wooden rowing scull. What caught my eye was the skin of the boat and the carefully matched veneers that made the hull look as one piece. Truly a sign of craftsmanship. The boat builder, Carl Douglas whom I have since met.


Furniture you say? Just a boat? No, a beautifully hand crafted rowing scull that employs layers of Kevlar and wood veneers. But furniture, as you scratch your head?

Does it have thoughtful design? Most certainly. Form? It is sleek fast racing scull. That is the design. Functionality? Absolutely. It has the design as well as the form which gives it functionality. A fast competitive racing scull made to win.

So what element here is not in a finely made piece of furniture, or a restored pre 1850 English three bay four bent timber frame, or a student’s woodworking project? It first comes from an idea, then the design, followed by form, (the building of the piece) and, the functionality, (what the piece is supposed to serve).


That’s what we do at Banner Hill. We build, we teach, and we learn from every new experience, but the elements remain the same once the idea has taken root. The design, form, and functionality, remain the guiding principals whether it be a student project, a hand hewed pre-1850 timber frame being given new life, or a client commissioned piece.

It’s all furniture to us.