Live edge or natural edge is a style of

furniture Furniture refers to movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating (e.g., stools, chairs, and sofas), eating (tables), storing items, eating and/or working with an item, and sleeping (e.g., beds and hammocks). Fu ...

where the furniture designer or craftsperson incorporates the natural edge of the wood into the design of the piece. Live edge furniture often incorporates gnarly wood, such as Alligator Juniper, mesquite,

Vachellia nilotica ''Vachellia nilotica'', more commonly known as ''Acacia nilotica'', and by the vernacular names of gum arabic tree, babul, thorn mimosa, Egyptian acacia or thorny acacia, is a flowering tree in the family Fabaceae. It is native to Africa, the Mid ...

and salvaged wood that could not be used in conventional woodworking. There are special challenges involved in working with this type of wood, and several methods for live edge have developed. Some leave the natural holes and cracks in the wood while other artists fill them with resins.

Origins

Live edge is a mixture of "Western" and

rustic furniture Rustic furniture is furniture employing sticks, twigs or logs for a natural look. The term “rustic” is derived from Latin “rusticus” (peasant; as opposed to urban). The style is rooted in Romantic tradition. In the US it is almost synonym ...

styles. Originally it was categorized as

rustic Rustic may refer to: *Rural area *Pastoral Architecture * Rustication (architecture), a masonry technique mainly employed in Renaissance architecture * Rustic architecture, an informal architectural style in the United States and Canada with sever ...

, but the two styles have many differences. Live edge

is believed to have originated around the 1600s in

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, when

settlers A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settle ...

were beginning to establish themselves by building homes on the territory. The

required functional furniture quickly, so opted for basic pieces made from unfinished wood. As the settlement of

progressed, the practice of live edge

became less popular.

Practitioners

George Nakashima, winner of the Institute of Architects' Gold Craftsmanship Medal, is known for leaving the natural edge of the wood as part of the finished piece including in his series for

Knoll In geography, knoll is another term for a knowe or hillock, a small, low, round natural hill or mound. Knoll may also refer to: Places * Knoll Camp, site of an Iron Age hill fort Hampshire, England, United Kingdom * Knoll Lake, Leonard Canyon, Ar ...

in 1946.George Nakashima
Design dictionary His style is considered an extension of the Arts and Crafts movement and employs craftsmanship that Nakashima said was "not only a creative force, but a moral idea." Mixing Japanese, American and International Modern style he designed furniture lines for Knoll and Widdicomb-Mueller "using timber organically and deliberately chose boards with knots, burrs and figured grain."George Nakashima
Unfinished natural edges and butterfly joints over the voids characterize the work of George Nakashima Woodworkers Institute

In Popular Culture

In 2012,

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was prod ...

featured a live edge

coffee table A coffee table is a low table designed to be placed in a sitting area for convenient support of beverages, remote controls, magazines, books (especially large, illustrated coffee table books), decorative objects, and other small items.R.W. Symond ...

as a part of the

set design Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but in recent years, are mostly trained ...

. The

table Table may refer to: * Table (furniture), a piece of furniture with a flat surface and one or more legs * Table (landform), a flat area of land * Table (information), a data arrangement with rows and columns * Table (database), how the table data ...

was made up of two separate pieces, and typically held an arrangement of

flowers A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

along with cast beverages. The table was replaced with another design in 2018.

References

{{Reflist Furniture