Mastering a Traditional Japanese Finishing Technique on Kitchen Cabinetry Brings New Meaning to ‘Custom Millwork’

Custom Kitchen Cabinetry & Doors

Private Residence
Montauk, New York

We love custom millwork projects that give us an opportunity to work with fearless designers looking to create beautiful one-of-a-kind kitchen cabinetry designs. And, we recently completed one of the most custom projects we’ve ever been asked to produce.  

On this particular project in Montauk, NY, we were brought in specifically to create the home’s custom doors. But, once the project’s GC and design partners learned of our full cabinetry and millwork capabilities, we ended up taking on the kitchen cabinetry portion of the project as well. This included the challenge of bringing a historic wood finish to life: Shou Sugi Ban. While many other custom woodworking teams may shy away from such a unique build and finish, our craftsmen get excited about these types of projects.

Shou Sugi Ban is the traditional Japanese wood finishing technique of preserving wood by charring it with fire. It’s a labor-intensive process that involves multiple steps of charring, cooling and cleaning the wood before applying the final protective finish. The result is a sustainable surface with a rich sheen that can only be grasped by seeing the actual product. 

Traditionally, in its native market, it is used as standard wood siding, reasonably priced with improved longevity over untreated wood.  As it has made its way into western design the desired application has shifted to a chic high-design building material as seen on this project in NY. The charred cabinets were then contrasted with 2” thick solid white oak tops flanked by waterfall edges to the floor. The results were beautiful and custom in every sense of the word.

You can view the full photo gallery below of each of the custom millwork pieces we created for this home, including the kitchen’s Shou Sugi Ban finished cabinets.

Contact us today to learn more about our full range of custom millwork capabilities – from kitchen cabinetry to doors to built-ins and more. And, if you’re envisioning a unique wood finish or technique for your or your client’s next project, we’d love to work with you and help bring your design vision to life.