Westnofa Rosewood 8-Drawer Dresser

This Brazilian Rosewood 8-drawer dresser was manufactured in Norway in the 1960's.  It was branded "Westnofa" however Westnofa wasn't a manufacturer, it was an Norwegian export company that worked with a conglomerate of designers and factories.  Therefore it is difficult to know exactly who designed this piece.  The notable exceptions to this are the chairs designed by Ingmar and Harald Relling sold under the Westnofa label.  No matter, what is obvious on this piece is the incredible attention to detail and execution of material selection and lay-up.  The figuring and coloring on this piece are second to none and show why I love rosewood pieces so much.  The pulls, case corners and front edges are all of solid materials, not veneer edgebanding.  Even the back is finished (not real rosewood).  The insides of the drawers are all finished mahogany, including the drawer dividers in the top drawers.  It's low stance combined with the exaggerated horizontal grain emphasize its modern profile.  You won't find a piece like it in a retail shop and very rarely in vintage galleries.

Dimensions: 71 1/2"W x 18"D x 28"H

Sold

I Love How You Look Naked

Right now, in the Werks, a danish rosewood dresser.  I've said it before but rosewood is my favorite.  The coloring and figuring of the grain is unmatched.  Here are some pics of the raw sanded wood, no finish, just raw rosewood.  Imagine what it will look like with finish.....

American of Martinsville, part deux

If you follow my blog or watch my posts, this may look familiar. In fact, it is the second of 2 identical American of Martinsville 9 drawer dressers that I've restored in as many weeks. This is probably the nicer of the 2. The figuring on the top of the case is really spectacular. If I kept it I don't think I'd put anything on top so I could gawk at the lovely walnut. This one has very few minor flaws, I would say nearly flawless. Because of the lack of imperfections and spectacular figuring I've valued this one a bit higher than the first. The pic of the right side of the piece has some light shining on it, they are not flaws. Below is my description from the first piece.

This is a walnut 9-drawer dresser by American of Martinsville. Its design has been attributed to George Nelson although I haven't found direct evidence of that. Regardless it is a nicely designed piece that has stood the test of time and still looks classy today. I did change up the design just a bit on this one. Originally the inset panels on the doors were showing a painted black surface with a gold pinstripe around the edge. It was giving the piece a dated design that I wasn't a huge fan of. However the inside surface of those panels were walnut, which I am a fan of. I was able to take the panels out and turn the inside surface to the outside. Now the look is much less dated. This piece also has stylish offset polished aluminum pulls. I think this is why it is attributed to George Nelson, although other designers like Robsjohn-Gibbings have used this as well. The drawers also have a cool veneer lay-up with horizontal plain sawn walnut inset in vertically oriented rift sawn walnut. The door frames are all of solid walnut. All the drawers function well and the case and legs are structurally sound.

Dimensions are: 70"W x 31"H x 19"D

Sold

In the Werks, American of Martinsville part 2

Last week I started working on the second of 2 identical American of Martinsville 9 drawer dressers (see post of July 29).  I had never seen one of these before, with the black door insets and couldn't even find info on line.  But I managed to acquire 2 within just a few weeks of each other last year.
 The first one turned out nicely but had some damage to the veneer that I wasn't able to completely overcome.  The second is the less damaged of the two and is turning out to be a gem.  I could see some interesting swirls in the grain on the top of the piece but the original finish was hiding what it really looked like.  As I stripped and sanded I began to get some hints of what was being hidden.  I've begun applying finish and now its really jumping to life!  Swirls, burls, and stripes! Here are a couple quick (and not great) close up iPhone pics I took after the first coat of finish.  I'm hoping to have this one ready to go this weekend.

 

Here are a few more pics.  The doors are a couple coats of finish behind the rest.  You can see the color is there but not the depth yet.  I've since put a couple more coats on all.  The case and drawers are done, doors need a couple more.

Danish Rosewood Sofa and Side Table by Folke Ohlsson

I love rosewood pieces and will almost always jump at the opportunity to acquire them.  The design of this matching sofa and side table by Vejle Stole has been attributed to Folke Ohlsson.  These are beautifully constructed using solid Brazilian rosewood for the table legs and sides with a rosewood parquetry inlay for the top.  Both pieces have just been stripped and refinished to reveal all the great grain figuring in the wood.  They are in great condition with the only flaw being a few bubbles in the veneer that couldn't be repaired in the finishing process.  Without the bubbles they would be worth much more but its a great opportunity to get some awesome danish pieces at a good price.

Sofa table dimensions: 53"W x 18"D x 28"H
Side table dimensions: 28"W x 18"D x 20"H

Available for $379 for the set.