Adria Console Table

Burl is the part of a tree that grew wrong — a dense knot of dormant buds that never became branches. Cut and laid flat, it gives a figure no straight grain can, all eyes and swirls, and it has been the most expensive veneer in the trade since the eighteenth century.

The difficulty is matching it. Burl comes in small leaves, so a top this long is book-matched from several, and the joins have to fall where the figure carries across rather than stopping. The same leaves continue down both waterfall curves, which is the part that takes the time.

Against all that movement, the drawer fronts are deliberately regular: a run of convex reeds, each rounded at the head, catching light in even bands. They open on a push latch, so nothing interrupts the rhythm.

Figure varies from tree to tree. The piece shown is representative rather than identical to yours.

Dust with a soft dry cloth, following the figure rather than across it. Keep out of direct sun — burl lightens faster than straight-grained timber and does so unevenly. Blot spills at once and use coasters; the satin finish is not a barrier.