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Artisan Rustic Furniture

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Home » Live edge rustic desk | “The Little Branch Desk.”

Live edge rustic desk | “The Little Branch Desk.”

September 9, 2021 by Kelly Maxwell 6 Comments

"The Little Branch Desk made from live edge wood.

This live edge rustic desk was inspired by artist Kelly Maxwell’s love of nature, simplicity, and natural wood furniture. The design transcends current trends in modern furniture and takes us back to early traditional woodworking with an intentional raw/natural form. The Little Branch desk features ethically sourced Claro Walnut (Juglans hindsii) air-dried wood slabs harvested from dead-standing trees. The rustic office desk design’s crafted exclusively, using wood joinery without hardware.

Also known as “The Little Branch Desk,” a rustic desk design showcases natural live edge wood and old-world wood joinery.
Simple mortise and tenon joinery connect the log cut end grain live edge wood slab to the desktop. Bow tie joints add stability and visual appeal.

A prominent mortise and tenon joint attaches the end grain slab/log
leg to the desktop. Bow ties add stability and visual appeal. A three-drawer cabinet features a mirror-cut feather crotch as the front panel and a sequenced drawer front. Doweled hangers with pen-and-pegs attach the pen drawers and base cabinet to the desktop. Solid wood drawers feature dovetail joinery with solid tongue and groove glides built into the drawer sides with an optional push-to-open feature. A durable, waterproof natural hard wax finish completes the live edge desk.

Live edge desk.

This rustic office desk design also features a Claro walnut feather crotch as sequenced drawer fronts.
This live edge desk design also features a mirror cut of the walnut crotch used as the sequenced drawer front as the cabinet’s front panel. The cabinet’s live edge wood creates a picture frame around this unique feather crotch. Also adding to the visual appeal along with the wood joinery.
While the cabinet’s highlights sequenced walnut crotch drawer fronts, the drawers were made entirely of Claro walnut wood. All the desk drawers have sliding Dado joints, and each drawer side panel has a tongue joint. The waxed tongue joint slides in the Dado’s joint and serves as the drawer’s glides. Also, the drawers are constructed with solid wood dovetail joints with a floating bottom panel.
This rustic office desk also has two shallow pen drawers made from solid wood and dovetail joinery.
“The Little Branch Desk” totes an eight-foot-long by 34″ to 60″ wide Claro walnut solid tree slab desktop.
The perfect rustic executive desk, handmade using old-world traditional wood joinery but with modern upgrade options. These options include pushing to open, blended with the old-school drawer glides. Other options include hidden power and magnetic charging.
Designed out of a love for nature, traditional wood joinery, and intentional natural wood furniture. Kelly Maxwell designed and built “The Little Branch Desk” using traditional wood joinery but intending to live edge wood’s raw/natural form.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Don Hahn says

    September 10, 2021 at 6:39 pm

    Truly a warm, elligant, functional artistic desk.

    Reply
    • Kelly Maxwell says

      September 21, 2021 at 10:33 am

      Thanks, It is a cool desk.

      Reply
  2. Gary Meier says

    September 10, 2021 at 7:52 pm

    Outstanding work.

    Reply
    • Kelly Maxwell says

      September 21, 2021 at 10:32 am

      Thanks!

      Reply
  3. Brianne says

    October 11, 2021 at 12:32 pm

    Stunning! Is this desk for sale, how do we purchase?!

    Reply
    • Kelly Maxwell says

      October 27, 2021 at 8:51 pm

      Yes, this desk is for sale. Please contact me at my studio at 615-878-6216 or cell at 706-573-8854 for pricing.

      Reply

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Be Inspired

Inspired by nature, Kelly Maxwell designs and builds a unique style of rustic furniture that elicits awe and wonder. “I work with wood found in nature,” says Kelly, “as it reveals an organic beauty that transcends woodworking into an art form.” “Many times, it’s like polishing a hidden gem.” As a self-made furniture maker, Kelly stays true to his humble roots as he expands his craft.

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