Large Walnut Trestle Dining Table in the Style of Axel Einar Hjorth’s Lovo

Our studio has long been inspired by Axel Einar Hjorth’s early furniture work.  When a customer recently asked if we could build a Lovo table for her dining room, we jumped at the opportunity to dive more deeply into his design for Nordiska Kompaniet and produce our own study with a few modern and regional updates.

One of the first things we noticed was that tables seem to have been designed for much smaller people in the 1920’s – 1930’s.  In our version, we updated the table height to 30″ and added enough elbow and legroom for taller guests.

The original table was built in multiple laminations of Swedish pine, which while beautiful, is prone to scratching and seasonal wood movement.  Since we are privileged to be located near so many artisan lumber mills in the upper Midwest, we hand-selected local unsteamed quartersawn walnut for our top and jointed the boards with long handplanes to ensure that the top will remain stable for generations to come.  The unsteamed lumber produces a rich color palette in the walnut (reminiscent of rosewood) that can simply not be achieved by large-scale sawmills and furniture manufacturers.

We extended the table’s dimensions to 8′ x 40″ to accommodate a formal dinner of 6-8 guests (but we’ve been able to squeeze quite a few more around it informally).  The table works great for either dining chairs, or an accompanying farm-style bench seat would also be a great fit.

The thick hardwood top and legs give the table stunning presence and stability, and the knockdown construction with its easily removable tusk tenons allow the table to be easily disassembled and flat-packed when the time comes to move it.  Our finishing process is meticulous and the surfaces are a wonderfully smooth in person.

We use an extremely safe, non-VOC natural oil finishing process that results in countertop-level durability that can hold up to a surprising amount of abuse.  In the event of inevitable scratches, the finish is easily spot-repaired by the user at home without the need for stripping, etc.  With a table like this, the finish and the hardwood itself will continue to develop richer colors over the years and the surfaces will become more refined as they are burnished by use and re-oiling.

The example above was produced in locally sourced black walnut, however we can produce this table in other species (e.g. White Oak, Ash, Etc), feel free to inquire for more options.  If there is a particular wood species you’d be interested in seeing this table in, let us know.

Due to the positive reaction we’ve received, we’ve decided to keep our jigs and tooling in place to make a limited number in Winter 2021 through Spring 2022.   Due to the size of this table and the care that goes into each piece in our workshop, each table is made to order.  We currently are projecting about a 3 to 6-month delivery window for new orders.  We are happy to crate and ship furniture to customers worldwide.  Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions about this table or our other works.

Price does not include freight shipping.  Please contact us for a shipping quote.