Fernwood Table is a minimal dining table created by Vancouver-based designer Nathan Martell. Fernwood is a solid wood dining table, originally designed for my home in its namesake neighborhood. Produced in local ash wood, the table finds its identity through its curious leg detail. To form the legs, two ash planks are shaped and chamfered along each edge and then laminated with a slight stagger on one end. A steel bracket embedded between the planks allows the legs to bolt to the table top from below, which in turn has each of its corners cut in order to reveal the leg profile. Striving to achieve a visual lightness, while also celebrating the mass of the material used to produce it, the collection aims to honor its material through a pragmatic and restrained approach to fabrication, with the leg and top dimensions being driven by common hardwood plank sizes in an effort to minimize waste. In a product category that has been designed and redesigned endlessly, the Fernwood table aims to carve out a unique position through its quiet confidence and considered detailing. A matching bench, which shares a related leg detail was also designed and produced to complement the table.

Photography by Guy Ferguson