Cosmetic Standard

At Northfield & Co, all pieces of furniture are handmade. No two pieces are alike. Each will vary in grain pattern, knots, etc.  We hand make everything, including the table tops. These are not factory built pieces and may not be perfectly level or flat. We work to make them as flat as possible but just know that they will not be perfect.  All tops are built from multiple pieces of lumber, edge glued to create the wide widths needed. 

Each board of lumber is like a fingerprint carrying a unique grain pattern. Wood species may carry similar traits, but each board is going to have its own personality. We build with real, solid wood that has character. Character includes, but is not limited to variations in color such as containing sapwood (wood closest to the bark and lighter in color) and/or heartwood (darker in color compared to the sapwood) that makes the wood appear to have stripes or streaks, knots (created by the connection of branches), voids (where knots have fallen out), rough patches, minor cracks, and live edges. There might be filled and unfilled knots, voids, and cracks depending on the depth and if the place is able to hold resin or epoxy. We cannot guarantee lumber to not have any of the above due to how lumber is graded, how we have to build the table to prevent any tension between the boards for it to last, and to avoid waste. Therefore, it’s likely your table will have character. 

All wood takes stain differently even if it’s the same wood species. What you see in the showroom, in a picture, or sample could still be slightly different than the build you receive. We cannot control how each board will stain. We use some machinery to help with the process of planing and joining the boards. However, we are humans and not machines that are crafting these pieces and we strive daily to improve our craftsmanship. Some may see the character in wood as imperfections, but we celebrate these beautiful elements that make each piece of furniture truly one-of-a-kind. 

Each piece will have small imperfections which is part of the custom process. This includes, but is not limited to, knots, cosmetic/surface cracks in and between boards, unevenness, levelness, etc. Creases and/or cracking in and between the boards over time/changing of seasons is completely normal. Wood is an ever living object and can shrink/expand during changing seasons/temps/humidity changes, this makes it susceptible to warping. All of our tops are built from hardwood to limit these issues but wood can still change with climate. 

If you're looking for a piece of furniture without any character mentioned above, then our business may not be the right fit for you and that’s okay.