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Selecting the walnut
We buy walnut in boards, not veneer, and let it rest in the workshop for three months before the first cut, so it settles to Highveld air.
Timber · solid walnut, kiln-dried
Bespoke furniture · Pretoria
Furniture, furnishings and appliances built in our Pretoria workshop from walnut, marble, linen and brass.
Hover over an item to explore the category.
The house
Dove House began with one walnut table, made slowly for a family home in Pretoria. Everything since has followed the same rule: choose honest materials, join them well, and finish them by hand.
We work in four materials we know deeply. Walnut for its warmth, marble for its weight, linen and bouclé for touch, and brass that darkens as it's used. Each piece is drawn, sampled and made to order, so it fits the room it's going to.
Curated collections
Bespoke craftsmanship
Five steps, all in one workshop. Scroll to follow a piece from raw board to your room.
01
We buy walnut in boards, not veneer, and let it rest in the workshop for three months before the first cut, so it settles to Highveld air.
Timber · solid walnut, kiln-dried
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Frames are mortise-and-tenon and drawers are hand-cut dovetails. Glue and timber do the work; hardware stays out of sight.
Joinery · Pretoria workshop
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Seats are pocket-sprung and wrapped in feather, then covered in wool bouclé or stonewashed linen with hand-finished seams.
Upholstery · wool bouclé, linen
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Stems, handles and knobs are turned from solid brass and brushed by hand. Left unlacquered, they deepen with every year of use.
Metalwork · unlacquered brass
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We select each marble slab in person and book-match the tops, so the veins run unbroken from one edge to the other.
Stone · selected slab by slab
The Dove House Journal
New pieces from the workshop, notes on caring for walnut and marble, and first sight of each new collection. Four letters a year, never more.