The Love List: Burl and Cork

The color brown has come and gone as the “it” color at least twice since I’ve been in the business, but I’m a steadfast believer in its warmth and depth. I love how burlwood and cork add a ton of movement and organic irregularity to brown tones and make everything just a little bit cooler. My office at the studio is wrapped in (faux) burl wallpaper and I recently added cork walls to my home. The origin of this love is easy: In my home growing up we had a burlwood coffee table that my parents brought from their home in California. The base of it is twisted roots with little cavernous nooks and crannies; my brothers and I used to run our matchbox cars up an around, and parked them in a little “garage” at one end of the table base. Flash forward a couple of decades and I requested the table as a pre-inheritence. My parents obliged and after a stint at the studio it now lives in my living room. My kids are a little old for matchbox cars, but I love living with this piece—and all the memories attached.

Clockwise from top left:

(Some items are vintage and one of a kind—all were available at time of posting)

This lamp has a long lead time but would be worth the wait!

These sculptural bookends get softened by the burl treatment; so handsome for a study

We love the lighter ash tone of this patched-burl end table (like the coffee table in our kitchen studio, pictured!). This one has a great price point, too.

This weirdo chunk of burl is a circa-1980s jewelry box and would make quite a statement in the bedroom!

We love a good biomorphic coffee table, and this cork “big foot” would make any space.

Another longtime love is a footed bowl. These up the ante being made from cork.

These nightstands. That is all.

Cork makes amazing flooring and I would love to do a patterned one like this!

This cork stool is a classic and comes in a couple of shapes.

Oh, right—cork is also great as a bulletin board! We’ve ordered these rolls in the past and mounted them on plywood.

Loving this pair of dark-burl trays.

This cork urn is just sending me!

For a real statement, consider this antique deco pedestal

A burl box is a great and practical way to add a hit of pattern. These often show up in our photo styling.

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