Harbour

We thought you might be interested in how the Harbour bed is made. We think it offers incredible value for money given the material and expertise that goes into making it.
We asked the maker to describe the process of making the bed. Sorry if it is a little technical, but he really wanted to describe in detail the intricate and highly skilled work that goes into making the lattice work.

“The Harbour Bed is made entirely of solid Chinese walnut (except for the slats). The King-sized version involves no less than 130 separate pieces of wood, each of which needs to be prepared individually.

The lattice is made first, each intersection involving three types of joints. There is a four-way mitre on the top (front) surface, a double butt joint on the bottom (back) surface, and a double mortice and tenon in the middle, which you can't see, but which gives the lattice its strength. The outer frame of the headboard is made up of two or three boards of walnut, joined together for strength. All the pieces are dry-fitted (without glue), mitres at the top corners, mortices and tenons elsewhere. Then, when everything fits, glue is applied and the entire headboard clamped while the glue dries. This all sounds fairly straightforward, but because of the number of joints that must be glued simultaneously, it actually takes four very skilled craftsmen working together just to assemble each headboard.

In comparison, the side rails, footboards, and slats are relatively easy to make, though the side rails need to have the holes for the fittings drilled very accurately. When all the parts have been made, stain is applied by hand to give each piece an even and consistent colour. The lacquer finish is then sprayed on, four coats in all, the entire bed being hand-sanded between each coat.”