Custom fine furniture built for you by Earl Nesbitt

Originally drawn toward sculpture, Earl Nesbitt decided early on that he wanted to design and build fine furniture because of the sculptural aspect of the work, the intricate joinery involved and his love of wood. He chose an intensive one-year apprenticeship and soon after began his own business designing and building fine solid wood furniture. Over the years his designs have evolved, becoming more and more complex and unusual with his latest installation being his most ambitious to date. The three cabinets he just completed for long-time, loyal clients have tested his skills and creative problem solving abilities. They represent a major accomplishment in his development as an artist.

Three-in-One Corner Cabinet by Earl Nesbitt; smaller cabinet 72” x 21” x 37”, larger cabinet 82” x 21” x 37”; available to order through CustomMade.com

Custom built China Cabinet by Earl Nesbitt, dimensions: 84” x 56” x 20 ½”; available to order through CustomMade.com

Art Deco Entertainment Center by Earl nesbitt measures 94” x 33” x 35”, order your version from the artists on CustomMade.com

The design process began in the clients’ dining room when Earl designed and built a dramatic 86” circular dining table with 10 chairs.

Zebrawood dining table that inspired the cabinets - contact Earl Nesbitt for more information

The striking 2-inch thick zebrawood top is supported by a massive base with square legs that frame large, curly maple bent laminate slats which mimic the chair slats. The clients loved the table and chairs so much that they commissioned Earl to build the newest pieces – cabinets to compliment the dining table and an entertainment center for their living room – but they had very specific space and aesthetic design requirements.

Earl drawing out plans for the entertainment center in the shop

A magical ambiance in the dining room was achieved through the asymmetry of the highly-figured woods and the shapely new cabinets, versus the symmetry of the large circular dining table and chairs. Formed into one corner is the new corner cabinet with a highly-figured quilted maple top with fluidly shaped edges. The cabinet has a solid walnut base and can be separated into two cabinets by removing an intriguing solid zebrawood centerpiece. The depth present in the figured wood is complimented by the tapered and sculpted design – examples being the irregularly shaped drawers and shelves which are also adjustable and the individually hand-formed zebrawood pulls which seem to swell out of the figure in the quilted maple. There is also a lined silverware drawer with a secret locking mechanism. The china cabinet continues the fairytale quality with both quilted and spalted maple doors, and spalted maple drawers also with hand-formed zebrawood pulls. The upper quilted maple doors are trapezoids which flow around pieces of water-glass. The cabinet also has adjustable organically shaped shelves.

Here's a mockup of the Entertainment Center in Earl's shop, a 3D "sketch" of what he's about to build...

Perhaps the most intricate and difficult of the three cabinets to realize was the entertainment center. The clients wanted a piece that would accent the art deco theme present in a treasured radio. The finished product has now become the centerpiece of their living room.

Bubinga and lacewood strips laid out on table in the shop with Earl in background thickness planing the strips

The top is solid birdseye maple framed with solid 2-inch thick wenge. The front has two curved center pocket doors which retract and two curved side doors which pivot outward. Creatively solving the problem of the design of the front, Earl milled and then glued together multiple pieces of bubinga and lacewood strips that were less than 1/16” thick to construct the doors.

In the shop, “clamping forms” for bubinga and lacewood strips

Bubinga and lacewood strips being pressed, in the shop

Bubinga and lacewood strips after being taken out of the press, in the shop

The end result is four doors and two outside panels made from nearly 300 strips of wood joined to form elegant curves and complete a major design requirement – a structurally difficult hurdle became a stylish solution and the focal point of the piece.

Entertainment center without doors in the shop

At the clients’ home during installation, Earl adjusting edge of entertainment center doors with hand-sander

At the clients’ home during installation, Earl chiseling edge of entertainment center doors

At the clients’ home during installation, Earl chiseling edge of entertainment center doors

At the clients’ home during installation, Earl installing drawer guides on curved drawer of the entertainment center

Earl installing curved drawers on the entertainment center

It was clear that the clients were pleased with all of their new furniture when they placed a crystal pitcher on the upper shelf of the china cabinet and smiled as it fit perfectly.

Here’s a description of the finished Art Deco Entertainment Center cabinet:

Media cabinet made from birdseye maple, bubinga, lacewood and wenge. Contemporary take on an art deco theme. Two center pocket doors, and two outer doors that pivot outward. Drawers, adjustable shelves. Hand-rubbed oil finish. Dimensions: 94″ x 33″ x 35″.

Earl installing a panel of the entertainment center

At the clients’ home during installation, the entertainment center with doors open

Voila! At the clients’ home during installation, the entertainment center with side pivot door open.

See Earl’s furniture firsthand at the Western Design Conference, September 8-11, in Jackson Hole, Wyoming; at the One Of A Kind Show and Sale Chicago, December 1-4, at the Merchandise Mart; and at the Architectural Digest Home Design Show, March 22-25, 2012 at Pier 94 in NYC; or by appointment at his New Mexico studio.

Contact Earl today to talk about ordering your own fine custom furniture by sending him a message on CustomMade!