A changing table in burr walnut

The project: a one-off piece, not mass-produced furniture

Changing tables are everywhere. Not this one. It is a piece of fine cabinetmaking, designed to last well beyond the nappy years: a piece that will stay in the family.

The sides of the piece, the cheeks, are cut from solid burr walnutBurr walnut: a growth that forms on the trunk of some walnut trees. Its swirling grain, impossible to reproduce, makes it one of the most sought-after timbers in cabinetmaking. Every piece is unique. Known as loupe de noyer in French.. I chose how to cut each part straight from the logLog: the section of trunk the boards are sawn from. By choosing where and how to cut, the cabinetmaker decides the pattern the grain will form on the finished piece. Known as a bille de bois in French. to get perfect symmetry in the shapes and the grain. The live edges were sanded while keeping the organic shape of the tree: you can still feel where the wood comes from.

How I assembled it: zero screws

The three shelves are in cherry. And to join them to the cheeks, no screws at all: sliding dovetailsSliding dovetail: a swallow-tail shaped joint, machined on one part, that slides into a groove in the other. It locks purely mechanically: no glue, no screws. Known as a queue d'aronde coulissante in French., machined on the shelves, slide into the grooves of the cheeks.

This joint forgives nothing: the cut has to be extremely precise so everything locks mechanically, without the slightest play. But the result is worth it. The piece goes together and comes apart in under a minute, simply by sliding the shelves, and it is rigid the moment it is assembled.