Materials, Finishes, & Design: Three Elements of Sustainable Cabinets and Furniture
Green materials
Bunchberry
Woodworking specializes in the use of environmentally-friendly materials,
including reclaimed, urban, and sustainably-harvested lumber; tree-free
wheatboards; bamboo; and no-added formaldehyde plywoods.
Lumber
·
Salvaged and urban woods represent
lumber that would otherwise serve a lesser use as firewood, pulp, or
landscaping mulch. Urban trees, felled for reasons of safety or
disease, can be given a second life in well-crafted furniture and cabinets.
·
Trees species native to western
Oregon—including bigleaf maple, alder, Pacific madrone, California black
oak, Oregon myrtle, golden chinquapin, Oregon ash, and cottonwood—have
beautiful wood and are harvested locally.
·
Sustainably-harvested lumber
certified by the Forest Stewardship Council offer assurances that forests are
managed in an ecologically-responsible manner—selective harvest, no
genetically-modified trees, and limited chemical pesticide use.
·
Bamboo, a tree-free alternative,
is a quickly renewable grass with a hardness to rival most any wood.
Sheet goods
·
Wheatboard—made from
annually-renewed agricultural waste that would otherwise have been burned—is
a strong, water-resistant, no-added-formaldehyde sheet stock option. Also available with melamine and acrylic
coatings.
·
Bamboo, laminated into sheets,
offers sustainability, beauty, and resilient hardness.
·
Traditional veneer-core plywoods
can be specially assembled using FSC veneers and no-added-formaldehyde
soy-based glues developed at Oregon State University which eliminate
off-gassing and preserve indoor air quality.
Finishes
·
All of
Bunchberry's furniture and cabinet pieces receive a traditional, hand-rubbed
oil and wax finish. Although labor
intensive, this produces a fine, proven finish and will protect wood, with
some care, for a lifetime of use. And unlike many contemporary products and
techniques popular with large-scale cabinet manufacturers—including
catalyzed lacquers and clearcoats—oil and wax finishes are zero-VOC and have
nominal effects on human health and the environment.
Quality
Cabinet carcases are constructed using glued dado
and rabbet joints and steel dowels.
Traditional face frames add strength and rigidity. Toe kicks and nail bars are of solid lumber
for extra strength and wear-resistance.
Doors are shop-built to ensure fit and quality. Full-extension drawer guides. Soft-close European hinges. Grain-matched split stiles. Figured door panels. Hand-rubbed finishes. Solid wood dovetailed drawer boxes.
Bunchberry
cabinets are built to last, with looks to match.
Design
Bunchberry designs are rooted in familiar Shaker and
Arts & Crafts styles—classic American looks that are as appreciated today as they were in the Eighteenth Century. There is no designed obsolescence to make
cabinets look out of date, no trend-following that requires expensive 'updates.'
Bunchberry Woodworking offers custom, computer-aided
design.
Cabinets
Wood Samples
