Bespoke period style oak table & chairs for Italian Castle

THE BRIEF & DESIGN

Our clients visited our showroom during late summer 2023. After much discussion we came up with a specification for a 4.6 metre long table, 1.1 metres wide, with two detachable 70cm long extension leaves, making a total length of 6 metres. Not something that's going to fit into your usual dining room, but this was to go into a castle, an Italian castle as it happens.

It was to have three pedestal type trestle supports, each with paired 6" supports turned as doric columns (parallel with entasis - that is slightly swollen in the centre), in a layout based on one we've previously made for another client, shown here (click the photo to take you to the actual product page - opens in a new tab/window):

Note the twin stretchers, lined up with the paired turnings of the trestle supports.

As is often the case with our bespoke pieces, we produced drawings for the workshop, which are sent to our client first for approval (we also produce full size component drawings for the workshop).

The chairs were equally treated to a fair amount of client personalisation. Our forte!

34 off upholstered side chairs
Based on these (click the photo to take you to the actual product page - opens in a new tab/window):

48cm wide x 49 deep (at seat level) x 99cm high (squab will be 44.5cm deep)
Cushion height (top of dome) 50cm from floor.
Back legs 5cm wide x 4.5cm (front to back).
Front legs turned as scaled down versions of above table legs (keep diameter to maximum, so leaving flats if need be).
Back panel 35cm high (from bottom of lower rail to top of top rail before fabric).
Wrap back panel fabric around sides of legs (same as our showroom examples).

And again, drawings were submitted to our client first for approval, before sending to the workshop.

THE MAKING

Here are some progress photos from the workshop:

Left photo shows chair components from machine shop. Right photo shows chair front leg turnings.

Left photo shows one of our craftsmen laying out the table top boards prior to marking out for the mortices to be cut into the board edges (right photo). These will take the loose tenons which will be pegged through the boards, a method known as dry jointing.

Above shows the huge table base with paired support turnings and stretchers. Side chairs back from upholsterer.

THE FINISHED ITEMS INSTALLED

Above shows some of the bespoke oak period style upholstered side chairs in our clients Italian castle (table by others). You can also see more in the background.

Looking down on the 4.6 metre table and chairs. Note the table extends to 6 metres with the leaves attached.