After months of researching local independent woodworkers and lusting after the table that existed…read moreonly as an indeterminate fantasy in my mind, I type with laptop and tiny glass of late harvest Muscat settled firmly upon the exquisitely striped, generously knotted and perfectly-yet-casually formed farmhouse table that I knew I would love if only one day I would meet it in the world.
Now, because of Andy, it lives in my little dining room.
My kitchen is my respite and retreat, which makes a dining table my canvas and showcase. So I was so excited when moving into our place in May at the prospect of finally, after years without one, having a table....
And not just any table, but exactly the one I wanted, if only I'd known exactly what I wanted beforehand. Two pre-eminent requirements: simplicity, and reclaimed wood; in other words, a piece that looks effortlessly casual in the way that only an individually crafted table, with all its perfect imperfections, can appear. Around Seattle, that can run a fortune. But after having searched hours away, and waiting months for a table that didn't appear, I looked again and finally ran across the website for Whitcomb and Company.
This is some beautiful work, people. The kinds of tables and custom pieces that are perfectly unified in their unmatched-ness, created from old reclaimed wood full of stories and knots and age, mixed with a creatively modern sense of workmanship....Not only is Andy's work just lovely, but he's an excellent source of ideas and useful questions. Previously, we'd thought of a slightly different table size, but through his questions about how we actually prefer to entertain (from how we like to sit to whether I serve food on the table or plate it in the kitchen) we ended up with a better idea than what we began with. On top of all that, his pricing is less than many other places in Seattle: a wonderful option for those of us who care about using existing wood sources but don't have multiple thousands of dollars to spend on such a table. Always prompt with email (and present for delivery literally right on the minute!), he was so easy and wonderfully professional to work with.
Word on the street is that he might be looking for a storefront or pop-up spot sometime around the holidays on the Hill. If you've got ideas for furniture that you need, I can't suggest strongly enough that you track him down.
I'll be here, piling platters onto this beautiful wood (from the Packard Building down the street, no less - how local can you get?!) and marveling at how it matches the dog....