Whether you’re renting a small apartment or buying your first house, you want to do everything right. You want to feel at home here, comfy and safe, warm and cozy. You definitely want it to feel like a real home and to reflect you, in the first place.
We know how you feel because we are all the same in this question. We’ve all been there at the crossing of aisles stuffed with mattresses, crockery, and rugs and we all racked our brains on how to make this motley stuff fit together.
Here’s a tip from weathered homemakers and good furniture lovers: don’t try to save money on essential furniture. Buy a good bed, a good sofa, and a sturdy table with a set of chairs, and your home is already complete, even if in a minimalist sense.
You can buy a rug or a cool mirror later, or skip them and buy a side table and a couple of cute shelves, or a display cabinet to keep your collection of something. They are all optional and can wait. It is these good solid pieces that decide whether you’ll feel fine in this house and whether you’ll feel happy to plop on this sofa after work and gather people for a meal and a laugh around the dining table.
Every furniture type that is really good and long-lasting is nowadays made by independent furniture manufacturers in the USA. You may not find the craftsmanship and quality you look for on Amazon, so look to American craftspeople instead. Let’s start with tables and seating. There are quite a few skilled individual makers and companies that can provide really top-class solid wood furniture made in USA, and to set you on the right track, here’s a list of excellent manufacturers of real wooden furniture. And when we say wood, we mean it.
Natural wood dining furniture: what actually counts as wood (and what does not)?
Why do we put stress on the word wood? Today, advertising and well-wishing sellers who don’t know much about furniture-making may lead you to believe that what looks like wood is wood. But in reality, it’s a bit more complicated.
To make it cheaper, furniture can be built from particle board, MDF, and plywood at best. These materials can be finished to resemble wood, but it’s only an impression. Laminating and paper-plastering have neither beauty nor the feel of real wood, and first and foremost, they don’t have durability. Plywood fares a bit better, but it is still thin layers of wood glued together to resemble solid wood.
So, when you ask for wooden furniture, it should be made of solid wood slabs or boards, like maple, oak, or walnut. Nothing else can be called wood.
A solid wooden table will have both a tabletop and legs or a trestle made of wood, or a wooden tabletop and metallic legs. Only solid wood and metal, if anything.
The veneer on solid wood is acceptable since veneer is a thin layer of more expensive wood that makes furniture look really luxurious. But real wood looks and feels amazing in its natural state, polished and finished with tints and varnish. Just touch a good tabletop and you’ll feel the difference.
What to choose from: general types of natural wood dining tables and seating
The types of tables can be listed and listed because there are hundreds of varieties of designs and combinations of finish and tint. Seating includes chairs and benches, depending on the style you prefer.
Basically, to separate them into rough categories for convenience, look at the shape of tabletops and legs. It is these configurations that will tell you what table style is yours and what you should specifically look for.
Oval, round, rectangular, or round – these are the main shapes. Live edge tables also belong here, because their shape can be described as a free-hand sketched rectangular. Round and square tables fit well into smaller apartments, while rectangular and oval are suitable for larger rooms and higher numbers of seaters, like 8, 10, and beyond.
Leg configurations or trestles (or pedestals) – they all depend on your taste and the style of your space. Turned wooden legs, classic farmable trestles, or wooden crossbeam legs belong to classic interiors that rely on natural materials, the presence of decorative objects and rugs, and fiber art that makes interiors warmer.
Iron legs or minimalist cubic pedestals or legs match contemporary styles of interior, like lofts, minimalistic spaces, or avant-garde room styling.
Traditionally, benches are bought together with farmhouse or rustic tables, and contemporary metal-leg or one-leg bar chairs are matched to contemporary table designs. Yet it is totally up to you to mix and match styles in your interior. The only tip we’d like to give you is that sturdier and heavier tables benefit from the company of lighter chair designs, where legs and backs are slim and airy. And in contrast, a skinny-legged table can take some heavy chairs or benches, and the set won’t look stuffy or bulky. Wood or wood plus rattan weave goes well with wood, and metal can accompany wood either.
Surely, you are free to bring any combination of designs to your interior, yet if you want to achieve coherence and harmony, it’s better to pay attention to basic style matching.
Last but not least: materials
Traditionally, hardwood is used for making good quality tables and chairs that will last. Oak, walnut, maple, beech, alder, teak, and mahogany (more expensive options) are the wood names to look for in your hunt for good pieces. A good dining table is a hardwood table, that’s what solid wood dining room furniture manufacturers will always tell you.
List Of Top Natural Wood Dining Sets Manufacturers In the Bay Area
The sunny, buzzing and busy California could not but inspire makers of fine furniture to craft some of the coolest and long-lasting pieces for homes and offices. The mesmerizing diversity of natural attractions and almost tropical clime invite to think out of the box, mix funk and classics and experiment till the result is absolutely perfect.
That’s why we’ve decided to list some excellent custom tables manufacturers in California because they just deserve a place in the spotlight.
1) Maxiwoods
We open our shortlist of makers with this company because it has managed to create a perfect blend of skilled manufacturing, top-class materials, and reasonable affordability of their products. Thus, a wider circle of good furniture lovers can treat themselves to an excellent furniture piece from Maxiwoods collections.
This small family-run company has set the bar of their work high from the very start and builds furniture that can easily fit into the luxury segment. Every table is crafted and finished by hand, with consideration for quality at every step. The goal of makers is to let wood speak, to tell its own story of natural beauty married to sophistication and elegance. Wood is always at the forefront of the design because when selected and treated properly, it needs little enhancement for its timeless noble look.
Wood sourcing and selection, crafting process, finishing touches – everything revolves around respect for wood as material and wood as a part of nature. Maxiwoods works with reliable and ethical suppliers only, where wood origin can be safely traced to suitable sources.
Designs are seemingly simple, with traditional and popular shapes, but they draw on the rich Californian landscapes as a source of inspiration. Maxiwoods is located in the Bay Area, so luscious seascapes and rich greenery prompt the subtle additions to solid wood slab tabletops that turn them into real works of art.
In such a way, the resulting tables can fit both classic interiors that are richly decorative at heart and minimalistic spaces with only a few components that build the essence of the room. Mind that every table can be customized, so you can assemble the piece that will be uniquely yours. You are free to choose the types of legs, materials (wood or iron), and colors of finishes. Experiment till you fully implement your vision.
We should separately mention quality because tables are made to last long and beyond. Wood is pre-dried, all iron elements are hand-picked, and finishing agents are safe and top quality. Put together and used with utmost expertise, these elements fuse into amazing tables that will become your reliable assistants in casual snacking and fine dining alike.
And, as said, this luxury won’t cost you a fortune, since the pricing policy is very reasonable. Table prices start at around $1,000 and go up incrementally as the design or manufacturing process gets more complicated.
2) Parkman Woodworks
If you like modern furniture – minimalist but with small details that add interest or with a twist that turns traditional style into something new – pay attention to this company. They describe themselves as a close-knit team of dedicated professionals and this dedication definitely shows. Operating from the premises in Los Angeles located in the building of a former century-old woodworking shop, these people work wonders using solid wood and iron.
They create collections of wooden furniture ready to be shipped to your home or are glad to collaborate with you on creating a bespoke piece of your dreams. If your vision of design or customization aligns with their aesthetic vocabulary, a miracle will happen. As said, they preach sleek simplicity and solidity that make basic things beautiful.
Dining tables with perfectly finished wooden tops and elegant iron legs or frames are sturdy, heavy-duty and stylish at the same time. You can put them into more ornate interiors or add them to your loft and they will look equally at home in both cases. Moreover, their sturdiness will make these stables a center of life in your house, hosting cozy meals, tabletop games and friendly chats over a cuppa.
The specialty of the company is their focus on sustainability and no-waste approach to use of resources. They use reclaimed wood and urban wood harvested in LA to make some of the most interesting furniture pieces. So you can be 100% sure about the ethical origin of your table.
Sustainability in general is a part of their vision, so they do take care to leave little carbon footprint and to give back to the neighborhood they operate from.
Pricing is also reasonable: the cheapest table can be bought for around $1,300 and the price will go up a bit for larger sizing or for more elaborate design.
3) Urban Beaver
To even out the minimalistic urban aesthetic, we place this company next on the list because they specifically describe their tables as custom rustic pieces and they mean it. These craftspeople work from Los Angeles but take their inspiration from ages of sprawling farms, homesteads and all things rustic and natural. Their designs follow the simplicity playbook but this simplicity stems from long and well-established tradition. Sturdy, massive, and reliable, with the charm of items made by skilled hands from really good materials, their tables look transported directly from farm kitchens or family ranchos.
Their signature design is an 8-leg table, a model featuring two legs coming from one joining point instead of one. In such a way, split legs create unusual and visually lighter effect while building sufficient support for a solid tabletop. Each pair of legs is somewhat slanted against each other, so the tabletop rests on 4 triangular shapes, all made of top quality wood, legs and all.
We describe the design in details to give you a clue on how carefully and creatively the team uses the existing designs to create something new and exciting. Compare this model against the traditional farm table of their making, like the one with trestles and a stretcher, and you’ll see the similarity and difference at work here.
The rustic, somewhat rough styling is a signature of this company, but it comes from knowing what wood can do and how to use it to the most advantage. It goes without saying that people making these tables have years of experience under their belts and that they craft these pieces with utmost care and longevity in mind.
The company prefers sourcing wood from their neighborhoods and adjacent areas of LA, like trees due to be removed as potentially hazardous. If non-urban wood is used, it is sourced responsibly and sustainably.
Pricing varies depending on the complexity of your design and rarity of the wood to use, so ask for a rough quote before placing an order. We believe, they won’t make you break the bank, but still you’d better ask in advance.
4) S and L Furniture
This small father-and-son company making custom dining tables California did not grow much larger since its inception but the skills they invest and experience they have with wood are immense. Although in its current form, the company was established in 2013, its roots reach back to the late 19th century when the grandfather set up one of the few Mexican-American companies and reached huge success. So the skills in woodworking were building over generations in this business literally, and it shows.
Skilled craftspeople use both aged reclaimed softwood like fir and traditional American hardwood to build elegant and functional pieces, from tables and benches to cabinetry and built-in media stands. Aged wood is great in its degree of maturity and dryness, as they explain, it is perfectly ready to be made into heirloom pieces and they won’t crack or deform over time. New wood is carefully selected and treated to give it the same degree of preparedness for furniture. That’s how much they care about quality and that’s why their hardwood shelves and solid wood end tables made in USA turn out just right.
The number of table and bench models may not be the biggest in the business but the solidity, craftsmanship and finish are just perfect. Wood guides the team in the design process, and they let it speak. Their tables are sturdy, sometimes massive and always in accordance with classic styles like functionalism and farmhouse aesthetic.
You are always welcome to contribute to table making and ask for customization. Their expertise and skill will let you get what you dream of, and they are happy to work with people who know what they want and are not afraid to build their furniture from scratch.
The team promises speedy drafting and manufacturing process (3 to 6 weeks depending on the design), quality guarantee, and openness to customization and experimentation. They operate from LA and San Fernando, but you can visit them by appointment only.
Pricing is average across the market, with the lower brackets opening at $1,650 and moving upwards depending on details and customization.
5) Isaiah Barker Custom Woodworking
This small company where the owner is also the chief woodworker has already gained an established reputation of reliable custom furniture manufacturers in California.
This company takes commissions on some very tricky items that need careful planning and execution and has completed the projects with excellence. That’s why we feel compelled to recommend it to you if you look for a good table, a bench or a cabinet to fit into a free corner.
This woodworking business creates cool and elegant tables, and their signature feature is some very skilled marquetry work, where tabletops get decorated with interesting patterns and designs. In such a way, even a simple farm table or a minimalist table becomes a one-of-the-kind item worth passing down to the next generation.
One more cool feature about this company is that you can ask for custom table dimensions and shapes to fit it into oddly non-standard kitchens or breakfast nooks. From very small to XL-sized, you are welcome to discuss what you need to customize, and the craftsmen will do their best to accommodate your needs.
They can also recommend what wood will suit your project best, so you get the most of this wonderful material.
The company serves the immediate Fullerton area (around Anaheim), but you can ask for shipping and they will organize it for your convenience.
Needless to say that the owner is very concerned about environment and sustainability, so wood is either sourced ethically or reclaimed and salvaged.
Pricing will depend on the complexity of the project, so reach out and ask for an approximate quote. They will provide it promptly and free of charge.
Excellent Solid Wood Dining Sets Makers Across the USA
Now that you know what to look for, let’s find out what manufacturers create some of the best solid wood dining room sets made in USA and where you should start your table shopping spree.
- Gat Creek
If you need to source a good dining table locally in West Virginia and want to know who exactly handcrafted the piece, look no further. This company is so dedicated to promoting skilled handwork and local manufacturing that it invites its furniture builders to sign the pieces they make. They made the proud words ‘handmade in the USA’ their literal guide to action, and people who get to create top-quality tables are known by their names to clients.
Every piece is designed, manufactured, and assembled by hand on the company premises, so every step is closely controlled for quality. Wood is sourced from sustainable sources, with respect for forests and local communities, so you don’t have to run your own research on their supply chain.
The company offers a wide selection of famous table designs and crafts one-of-a-kind pieces in collaboration with clients. So if you have a dream table in your mind, you can reach out to them and talk about making it happen. Or else, just browse their collections of farmhouse, contemporary, Scandi, colonial, midcentury modern, and minimalist models and you’ll find something to your liking. Whether you want a live edge or a perfectly finished surface – you can have it.
You’re not limited by existing table configurations – you can customize them, choosing a different color, a tabletop shape, and selecting the support that matches your vision – legs, trestles, pedestals, or frames.
Everything is fine about these custom wood dining table mas, from quality to designs. The only consideration is the price. The cheapest table starts at $1,800, which may seem a bit high. Yet the top brackets close at $3,800 or so, so in general, their pricing policy is quite acceptable.
Saltwoods
The story of this company began and now unfurls near Boston, in Needham, Massachusetts, close to Boston shipyards and in friendship with local demolition crews and suppliers of ethically sourced or reclaimed wood.
The company founder loves all kinds of wood, both new and old because each type has its appeal and the best application. The name of the company itself stems from the piece of oak from an old shipyard, soaked for decades in seawater and naturally hardened and uniquely patinated. While crafting the first commission from this wood, the founder himself came up with the company name because it reflects the vision: wood that has its history and has withstood the test of time and elements. Hence, it is perfect for crafting heavy-duty long-lasting dining tables.
The uniquely sourced wood requires an equally unique approach. That’s why customers are welcome to start designing their perfect table during their first visit to the site. The company offers an ample selection of leg types, from classic 4-leg designs to trestles, pedestals, and contemporary solutions. Match them with rectangular or oval tabletop shapes and you can create an ideal model that will fit your interior nicely.
To help you start your designing journey – and when departing on their creative quest – the company team first looks at the natural patterns of the wood itself. Pieces and lumber reclaimed from older barns, industrial buildings, shipyards and other sources of weathered wood always have the special look, the quirks and marks of time that are a ready design feature worth preservation. That’s why the company tabletops always look unique, and individual, and sometimes take a bit of mixing and matching to bring out the best of natural board patterning that reveals itself after sawing.
The additional work and care that goes into a table when reclaimed aged wood is used means that the prices may seem a bit above the market. The bottom mark is $3,700 and the price can grow upwards remarkably if special materials or rare slabs are involved.
Rustic Trade Furniture
The company explains its approach to designing and making tables right in its name already. So if you are into sturdy, solid furniture that you can rely on and that is visible in any room, you’ve come to the right place. The company has its manufacturing premises in Georgia and Colorado, where both good wood and a tradition of excellent woodworking abound.
The family-run business started as the family tried to find the table for their home. When they did not find what they wanted, they decided to build the table of their dreams, and so the small home-based woodworking adventure began. The experiment was so successful that it developed into a full-fledged business spanning states and dozens of people. The secret? They know what they’re good at and they do it with dedication and skills.
The company specializes in chunkier furniture styles suitable for outdoors, roomy farmhouses, and spacious studios. Every table has a solid slab tabletop and steady sturdy legs. Such models can easily host a joyous dinner party, a big family get-together, or a cozy mealtime with the dearest ones.
Even such sturdier designs allow plenty of room for customization, and customers can choose leg configuration, color of finish, and exact sizing of tabletops, and thus build a piece of their own. From classic rustic farm tables to industrial sleek styles, Rustic Trade Furniture has something to offer to everyone.
All tables are built by hand, with utmost attention to every step of the process. Wood is kiln-dried, inspected, and carefully matched with appropriate designs. Some pieces of lumber look great when carefully finished and sanded, others make picturesque lice edge tables. The artisanal approach allows assessing the potential of every slab, that’s why even simpler, more classic table shapes never look boring or generic.
Finally, manufacturing is eco-conscious and the materials used are safe for people and the environment.
The company explains that its furniture belongs to a more upscale tier, so the manufacturing process and pricing reflect this point. The lower brackets are around $3,000 and go up to $5,000, with various options in –between.
James+James
As the name suggests, the company is run by two friends, but the scale of the business is quite impressive. From a one-man venture in 2011, the company grew to give employment to more than 100 employees and to build good wooden furniture sold in 50 states and 6 countries abroad.
The popularity of the products is explained by quality and relative affordability. The company is focused on making items of good quality wood and on making them locally.
Manufacturing facilities are situated in Northwest Arkansas, thus employing local people and benefiting local communities. The concern about local well-being does not stop there. Wood is obtained from liable sources where sustainability is maintained. All processes are performed by hand, controlled for quality, and run with concern for the environment. The created furniture is sturdy and solid but also elegant and stylish.
The cool part about these creators of solid wood dining tables made in USA is their experimentation with styling. They take classic familiar designs and interpret them in a modern way. The finished tables look familiar in terms of overall styling but the fresh take on details (in particular, turned legs) makes their pieces very recognizable and playful, in a good sense.
Farmhouse tables, French Provençale tables, Mediterranean, contemporary, and minimalistic – their designs can fit any interior or apartment, and tables can be customized according to a customer’s wish. From classic turned pedestals and trestles to iron legs to wooden panels, from rectangular to smooth round tabletops – a variety of elements invites you to experiment and build the table specifically for your space.
Considering all this, the pricing for tables seems rather reasonable, starting at $2,000 and going up to $5,000.
Mortise & Tenon
As their name suggests, the company does not only use classic furniture materials like wood and metal, but they also apply ‘old-world building methods’ to gain authenticity and quality like in those older times. That’s already a brave claim to make, yet they practice what they preach, no less.
The company lists celebrities among its past and present customers, so the pricing matches the star status of the manufacturer. That’s a kind of an upfront disclaimer. Yet, we simply could not omit in our review this team of passionate woodworkers, with the star-studded customer list pinned to their workbench and the variety of one-of-a-kind table designs crafted by hand from fine hardwood. So, here it goes.
These wooden furniture manufacturers operate from Glendale, California, and cater to individual customers, businesses, and furniture retailers. No matter the scale of the order, every piece is designed in-house and crafted by hand using centuries-old woodworking techniques and methods. As the company says, no assembly lines, no stapled on-the-go pieces, just meticulous skilled handwork and expertise of craftspeople with decades of work under their belt.
This furniture is definitely built to last a century or so, but it is the designs that make it immediately stand apart. Tables with cabriole legs that artfully evoke past epochs and tables with double metal pedestal legs do deserve a separate mention. Yet the overall selection is also amazing and can match the most demanding taste. Customers or their authorized designers can collaborate with the company to create bespoke tables that will be reliable workhorses in the household and will impress friends and visitors alike.
The company is also concerned with sustainability (hence handcrafting and longevity of construction and design) and strives to find ethical supplies of good wood and to give back to the localities where their premises are situated.
As said, their pricing can bite, but if you can afford to pay around $5,000 for a basic design, with prices going beyond $11,000 for customized and bespoke pieces, then why not?
Alabama Sawyer
If you seek something special but within your financial reach, look at this small company that crafts exclusive pieces in very limited amounts. Their business model is based on the premise of no-waste use of available resources and salvaging wood where possible. Alabama Sawyer team crafts its pieces from urban trees to be removed because of hazards. They survey the 50-mile radius around Birmingham, Alabama, and make use of every tree that needs to be removed. In such a way, the lumber is salvaged and put to use, and the shipping/transportation impact is reduced to negligible.
This approach is super-sustainable, but it requires a big dose of creativity and calculation to make everything work. Fortunately, the team has it in them.
They design tables to accommodate the natural shapes of boards and wood pieces, and the resulting designs are both classic and fresh to give a cool vibe to any place. Minimalist tables, round tables, live edge tables, iron legs, wooden legs, pedestals – you can order existing pieces or introduce some changes to the design, adding different legs or finish colors.
The only caveat is that the manufacturing process is sometimes limited by available materials, so if you want a maple table and there are oak slabs in the workshop, you’ll have to join a waiting list. But usually, there is some selection of wood to pick from.
Due to a rather small production scale and use of available materials only, every table is unique. Details will always be somewhat different.
Sustainability is at the core of this manufacturing company, and the pricing is rather modest for such one-of-a-kind pieces. The basic table starts at $2,000, and customized bespoke pieces can reach the mark of $7,000.
Afterword
We’ve compiled a list of some very worthy woodcrafters who make really cool dining furniture in the USA worth your attention and your money. With this list, we just scratched the surface of the wondrous world of woodworking and furniture making, so feel free to explore more! Yet if you simply want to buy a top-quality wooden table or benches and move on to your next homemaking tasks, start with this list. You’ll find plenty of cool and elegant options to choose from!
