Handmade mid-century modern furniture. Solid hardwood. Built to last.
There is a difference between furniture that fills a room and furniture that belongs in one. The Heartwood Collection is the second kind.
We make handmade mid-century modern furniture from solid American hardwood — walnut and white oak, hand-selected at the lumber yard, milled flat, shaped and jointed by hand, and finished in our small shop in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Four pieces, designed together, built one at a time: a floating shelf, a side table, a plant stand and an entryway table. Each one made for the modern living room that deserves better than flat-pack furniture.
Four Pieces. One Design Language.
Every piece in the Heartwood Collection shares the same principles: tapered forms, honest joinery, a finish that lets the wood speak for itself. They are designed to live together — or stand alone. All three are available as custom walnut furniture in your choice of dimensions, so the collection fits your home rather than asking your home to fit around it.
No. 01 — The Fors Entryway Table
The newest piece is the Fors Entryway Table — solid walnut, 30 inches wide and just 8 inches deep, with curved legs shaped by hand and through-tenon stretchers you can see from the front. Built for the narrow walls that no other furniture fits. The first thing you see when you walk in the door and the last when you leave.
No. 03 — The Sten Plant Stand
Four tapered legs in solid walnut, angled outward on all four sides. Two flat cross-rails that cradle the pot — no platform, no shelf, nothing between the plant and the air around it. The Sten is as spare as furniture gets, and it is spare in the way that the best handmade mid-century modern design is spare: every element present because it has to be, nothing present because it was easy to add. Mortised joints, glued, no metal hardware. Available in two heights to accommodate different pot sizes and room compositions. Custom sizing available upon request.
No. 02 — The Bjorn Side Table
The Bjorn is built from two species working together: a solid walnut frame with tapered legs, and a white oak top and lower shelf. The contrast between the two woods is not decorative — it is structural, each species chosen for where it does its best work. Mortise-and-tenon joinery throughout, hand-fitted before glue-up. The top has softly rounded corners, hand-shaped so they feel right under your hand. This is custom walnut furniture designed to sit next to a sofa, anchor a reading corner, or live beside a bed for the next twenty years. Available in custom sizes on request.
No. 04 — The Lund Floating Shelf
Most floating shelves are low quality particle board. The Lund is made of solid walnut, without any additional hardware. The shelf appears to float — simple key-hole slots are spaced exactly 16in apart for easy install directly into wall studs. Available in four lengths from 24 to 48 inches, the Lund is the kind of shelf you buy once and never think about replacing. It is one of our most popular pieces for the modern living room, bedroom, and home office.
Why Heartwood
The furniture market is full of pieces that look like quality products and are not. Veneer over MDF. Particle board wrapped in printed paper. Joints held by cam locks that loosen inside two years. We understand why this furniture exists — it is inexpensive to make and inexpensive to replace. But we have never found it satisfying to live with, and we do not make it.
The Heartwood Collection is built on a simple premise: the most sustainable piece of furniture is the one you keep. Solid hardwood that is properly dried, properly milled, and properly finished does not warp, does not delaminate, and does not go out of style. A walnut side table you buy today will look better at ten years than it did on day one. The grain deepens. The finish mellows. The wood develops a patina that no factory process can replicate.
These are quality products in the original sense of the word — made with care, from the right materials, by someone who will put their name on every piece that leaves the shop.
How We Build
Every piece begins at the lumber yard, where we select boards by hand. We are looking for consistent color, tight grain, and figure that will read well after oiling. For walnut, we prefer boards with some sapwood — the pale blonde streak at the edge of the board — because it adds natural contrast and reminds you that you are looking at a tree.
Milling is the foundation of everything. One face jointed, one edge jointed, planed to consistent thickness, ripped to width. This process removes warp and twist and gives flat, square stock to work from. It is the least photogenic part of woodworking and the most important.
Joinery is mortise-and-tenon or dowels throughout on the table and stands, with hand-fitted joints tested before glue-up. If a joint needs a mallet, something is wrong. If it rattles, something is wrong. The Heartwood Collection is built to the standard of furniture that gets passed on, not replaced.
Finishing is a hard wax oil applied in 2-3 coats, with light buffing between each coat. The result is a low-sheen, tactile surface that feels like wood because it is wood — the oil penetrates rather than sitting on top. You are touching the grain directly. Each piece cures for 72 hours before it is considered ready to ship.
Custom Orders & Sizing
All four pieces in the Heartwood Collection are available in custom dimensions. If your space calls for a shelf that is 42 inches rather than 36, or a side table that sits two inches taller than standard, we build to your spec at no additional charge for minor adjustments. Significant changes in size or species are quoted individually — contact us before ordering and we will work through the details.
We also work with wood species outside of walnut and oak. White ash, cherry, and hard maple are all available on request and pair naturally with the mid-century modern aesthetic of the collection. Each species has its own character — happy to advise on the right choice for your space.
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Handmade mid-century modern furniture built for modern living. Custom walnut furniture made one piece at a time. Quality products that get better with age.
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Details
- Made in Fort Wayne, Indiana
- Solid hardwood throughout — no veneers, no MDF, no particle board
- High quality hard wax oil finish, hand-buffed
- 3–5 week lead time from order to ship
- Free shipping nationwide
- Custom sizing available on all three pieces
- Custom wood species available on request
No veneers. No shortcuts. Just wood, built to last.
The Heartwood Collection · Handcrafted in Fort Wayne, Indiana · Ships Nationwide
