Nathan Hunter Design: Custom Furniture That’s Something Else

If you’re thinking of having custom furniture made, ask yourself this question: what do you want to create? You’re about to seize an opportunity to make something truly unique.  CustomMade artisan Nathan Hunter explains:

Clients of Nathan Hunter Design reject the cliché of purchasing mass-produced furniture.  They’ve got something else in mind – an heirloom, a creative edge, … the unexpected.  They are not merely filling space in their homes, they are creating a story.

There’s a story behind each completed work in Nathan’s CustomMade portfolio, a story that often highlights both his vision and the desires of his customers.

This trapezoid coffee table, with a padauk and curly maple base and glass tabletop, brings together the visual and musical sides of his artistic background.  The design is a new take on sculptor Isamu Noguchi’s classic biomorphic coffee table as well as a “visual representation of music, where the lyricism of line reflects musical phrasing.”

Trapezoid Coffee Table by Nathan Hunter Design at CustomMade.com

Nathan’s 15 years of training in classical piano and his furniture making experience, which began when he was a child in his father’s shop, merge in his functional art creations.  He writes:

I have always found it impossible to isolate one art from another.  Functional art is a form that satisfies my need to combine the visual line, sometimes lyrical, sometimes severe, with my musical thoughts.  The final test of a piece for me is both its practicality as a useful object and its aesthetic desirability.  Do I want this piece in my home? Will my clients want it in theirs? This is the balance that I find so rewarding to create – between lyricism and poise – visual interest and function.

Your trapezoid coffee table can be made from a variety of woods.  Contact Nathan for more information.

On his design blog, Nathan shares the stories behind the custom furniture he’s created for one of his most singular customers, Ann. St. John.  After she had pieces made for her home, Ann asked Nathan to create furniture for her office space.

“Nathan and I had been working together for a long time,” she recalls, “and one day he took some time to just walk around my space, which is pretty, and he presented me with ideas in which to improve it.”  The ensuing conference table is a one-of-a-kind showstopper to visiting clientele. …  “The real value that Nathan brings to my life,” she says, “is his ability to really look at my space, whether at home or at the office, and make it beautiful.  If you let him do that, you’ll have an awesome product.”

The Three Worlds conference table, shown here in mahogany, quilted maple, and wenge, has a versatile design that can be modified to accommodate your workplace’s size and tech requirements.  You can submit a project request to Nathan for a similar conference table and specify your needs and wood choices or you can have him walk through your space and help you, too, see the beautiful possibilities in a new, unique design.

Three Worlds Conference Table by Nathan Hunter Design at CustomMade.com

You can also move through Nathan’s imaginative world right here on CustomMade.  Have you found something in his portfolio that’s stirred your creativity?  You’re not alone.  This stunning floating wardrobe, featuring a gracefully curved front, sustainably harvested zebrawood and macassar ebony veneers, and aluminum pulls, was a birthday gift for the customer’s wife.

Floating Wardrobe by Nathan Hunter Design at CustomMade.com

What was the inspiration for both the customer and Nathan? His levitating display cabinet.

Levitating Display Cabinet by Nathan Hunter Design at CustomMade.com

What inspires you? What else do you have in mind for your own custom furniture by Nathan Hunter Design?  Peruse his gallery of completed works and then share your ideas with Nathan.  You may soon have him walking through your spaces, real and imagined, too.