# Live edge

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{{Short description|Style of furniture incorporating natural edges}}
thumb|337x337px|Rustic furniture vignette featuring a live edge coffee table
'''Live edge''' or '''natural edge''' is a style of [furniture](/source/furniture) where the furniture designer or craftsperson incorporates the natural edge of the wood into the design of the piece. Live edge furniture often incorporates gnarly wood, such as [Alligator Juniper](/source/Juniperus_deppeana), [mesquite](/source/mesquite), [Vachellia nilotica](/source/Acacia) and [salvaged wood](/source/salvaged_wood) that could not be used in conventional woodworking. There are special challenges involved in working with this type of wood, and several methods for live edge have developed. Some leave the natural holes and cracks in the wood while other artists fill them with resins.

==Origins==
Live edge is a mixture of "Western" and [rustic furniture](/source/rustic_furniture) styles. Originally it was categorized as [rustic](/source/Rustic_furniture), but the two styles have many differences.{{citation needed|date=September 2014}}

Live edge [furniture](/source/furniture) is believed to have originated around the 1600s in [America](/source/America), when [settlers](/source/settlers) were beginning to establish themselves by building homes on the territory. The [settlers](/source/settlers) required functional furniture quickly, so opted for basic pieces made from unfinished wood. As the settlement of [America](/source/America) progressed, the practice of live edge [furniture](/source/furniture) became less popular.  

==Practitioners==
[George Nakashima](/source/George_Nakashima), winner of the Institute of Architects' Gold Craftsmanship Medal, is known for leaving the natural edge of the wood as part of the finished piece including in his series for [Knoll](/source/Knoll_(company)) in 1946.<ref name="Nakashima">[http://www.designdictionary.co.uk/en/nakashima.htm George Nakashima] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207212330/http://designdictionary.co.uk/en/nakashima.htm |date=2009-02-07 }} Design dictionary</ref> His style is considered an extension of the [Arts and Crafts movement](/source/Arts_and_Crafts_movement) and employs craftsmanship that Nakashima said was "not only a creative force, but a moral idea."<ref name="Nakashima"/><ref>[http://www.r20thcentury.com/biography_detail.cfm?designer_id=84 George Nakashima profile] R Gallery</ref> Mixing Japanese, American and International Modern style he designed furniture lines for Knoll and [Widdicomb-Mueller](/source/Widdicomb_Furniture_Company) "using timber organically and deliberately chose boards with knots, burrs and figured grain."<ref>[https://www.woodworkersinstitute.com/page.asp?p=624 George Nakashima]; Unfinished natural edges and butterfly joints over the voids characterize the work of George Nakashima Woodworkers Institute</ref>
==In popular culture==

In 2012, [The Ellen DeGeneres Show](/source/The_Ellen_DeGeneres_Show) featured a live edge [coffee table](/source/coffee_table) as a part of the [set design](/source/set_design). The [table](/source/table_(furniture)) was made up of two separate pieces, and typically held an arrangement of [flowers](/source/flowers) along with cast [beverages](/source/beverages). The table was replaced with another design in 2018. 

==References==
{{Reflist}}

Category:Furniture

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Live edge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_edge) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_edge?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.