A walnut shelf that floats on the wall, without a single visible fixing

A detour via Alsace

My roots are in Alsace, and when I head back up to Strasbourg, a project is often waiting for me there. This one fits on a single wall: a shelf in French walnut, subtler in look than American walnut, mounted on an invisible fixingInvisible fixing: all the fixings are hidden in the thickness of the solid wood. Once fitted, the shelf seems to float against the wall. Known as fixation invisible in French.: nothing appears to hold it, it comes straight out of the wall. The same principle carries the rounded shelves of this spruce bookcase in Gerde.

Hornbeam against walnut

The corners are mitred at 45° and joined with loose tenonsLoose tenon: a small piece of hard wood inserted into two facing mortises to join two parts. Here, they are cut from hornbeam. Known as a faux-tenon in French. left exposed: hornbeam, very pale and very hard, deliberately stands out against walnut's characteristic brown. A natural hard oil finish, and there you have a one-off piece, found in no shop, that gives the whole room its character.

The questions I often get asked

Which species to choose for a piece that will be seen? How do you look after oiled wood? Can a floating shelf carry weight?

I have practical answers to all of that, and two articles to dig deeper: which timber for a piece of furniture and caring for solid wood furniture. For your specific case, call me: the quote is free.