Furniture
worth finishing.
A side table in solid quarter-sawn white oak. You assemble it, cap the bolts, and sign the label underneath. Then it's yours.
A flat-pack side table in solid white oak that doesn't feel like flat-pack.
Flat-pack usually means compromises you can feel. This is the opposite. Solid American white oak, not veneer or a printed grain pattern on engineered wood.
The same wood and the same finish you'd find in furniture at three or four times the price — just shipped smarter and finished by you.
Fifteen minutes. A blanket, a screwdriver, and your signature. That's the whole process. Everything you need is in the box. When you're done, it's not something you bought — it's something you helped make.
The table has a number.
So does its print.
Each table ships with its print — a single oak on a golden hillside, numbered to match — and a poem card, both printed on Inbe paper from the Awagami Factory in Japan. Twelve more prints are sold on their own, numbered 1 to 12, at $30, shipping included.
Common questions
What is Fonds?
We design and build solid wood furniture worth signing your name on. Every Fonds piece is completed by its owner — assembled, signed, and kept. The things you're fond of tend to stay.
What wood does the Fonds side table use?
Quarter-sawn American white oak, selected for its stability, resistance to warping, and a shimmering grain figure known as ray flake — a medullary ray grain pattern unique to quarter-sawn wood that deepens with age.
Is Fonds furniture unfinished?
No. Every piece arrives fully designed, milled, stained, and sealed. Your role is the last fifteen minutes — assembly, metal caps, and your signature on the label underneath. This is completion, not construction.
What kind of finish does Fonds use?
A hand-applied water-based dye stain that reveals the natural grain of the oak, sealed with a hand-rubbed clear coat. Every piece is finished individually — not sprayed on a factory line. The wood looks and feels like wood, and the finish deepens with age.
How much does the Fonds side table cost?
$399 for the Founders Edition. Six numbered tables, built and ready. Shipping is included in the lower 48 and DC.
How does the table ship?
Flat, in one box, by UPS Ground from the American Midwest, wrapped in the furniture blanket you'll complete it on. Shipping is included to street addresses in the lower 48 and DC. We email you the tracking number when it ships.
Can I return the table?
Yes, within 30 days of delivery, as long as the label underneath is unsigned and everything comes back as it arrived. Signing the label is the moment the table becomes yours, so a signed table can't be returned for a refund. Return shipping is yours to pay.
What if a part arrives damaged?
If a part arrives damaged, or has a flaw from how it was made, we replace the part or the table, signed or not. Email info@fonds.design with your order number and a photo.
Can I buy the print on its own?
Yes. Twelve numbered prints of Beneath a Tree are sold on their own, at $30 with the poem card, shipping included. Both are printed on Inbe paper from the Awagami Factory in Japan.
How is Fonds different from IKEA flat-pack furniture?
Take everything about flat-pack furniture that feels cheap and replace it. Solid American white oak instead of particle board. Hand-applied finish instead of factory spray. Dado joinery with metal bolts instead of plastic cam-locks. A quality screwdriver instead of a disposable hex key. All blanket-wrapped in the box. The flat-pack is just how it gets to you.
Journal
Notes on wood, design, and why the things you help complete are the things you keep.
Material
Quarter-Sawn White Oak: Why It Mattered in 1903 and Why It Still Does
Stickley and the Craftsman workshops chose quarter-sawn oak for the same reasons we do: stability, finish, and a medullary ray figure that deepens for decades. What the cut means, and why it costs more.
Philosophy
The Arts and Crafts Movement Believed Furniture Should Be Honest. We Agree.
Real materials age. Fake materials fail. A hundred-year-old design philosophy and what it looks like when you actually live by it.
Process
Completion, Not Construction: What Fonds Learned from William Morris
Morris believed making something by hand connected the maker to the object. We translated that for people who aren't furniture makers. The final step is yours.
Origin
Fonds & Provenance
We keep the things we're fond of. We're fond of the things we keep. Provenance is what turns an object into an heirloom — and it starts the moment you sign the label.