Furniture built to last
The finest materials and techniques create pieces to stand the test of time
There is an oft-quoted saying, applied in all manner of situations, that ‘they don’t make things like they used to do’. It reflects a widely-held belief that, for all the convenience and affordability of modern products, they often lack something in quality and longevity.
This, however, is not an epithet customers of Royal Oak are ever likely to apply to anything they have bought from this long-established family company which, for more than 40 years, has been producing bespoke furniture which, to coin another phrase, is built to last.
Purchasing a piece of furniture from Royal Oak is an investment in a quality product which, as well as looking good, will give many years’ service, retaining its beauty and utility long after a mass produced equivalent reaches the end of its useful life.
This was very much the intention when Paul and Janet Kent established the business those four decades ago and which continues thanks to a design team led by their son Mark and the skills of a time-served group of craftsmen.
“I regularly have customers calling into our shop and our showroom who tell me that they have items of our furniture that we made for them several decades ago,” said Joanne Kent, who runs Royal Oak’s shop in Grassington, a short distance from the company’s workshop and main showroom.
“They invariably say how happy they still are, often 20 or 30 years later, with the furniture – which is just what we are looking to achieve with every piece we make and sell.”
Only the best quality timber is used, originating from environmentally managed woodlands where sustainability is a prime concern.
Each piece of furniture made at
Royal Oak starts the same way: English timber, whenever possible, arrives at the workshop with the bark still intact. There it is matched for grain and colour before the team of craftsmen set to work.
These highly-trained artisans use traditional cabinet-making techniques, such as dovetail and mortice and tenon joints, alongside more modern methods, to create pieces of quality furniture that stand the test of time.
So although a piece of furniture created by Royal Oak might be of highly contemporary design, beneath that modern look lies centuries of know-how and tradition, applied by people who take a genuine pride in everything they create.
The breadth and quality of Royal
Oak’s range can be seen in its 2,000sq ft showroom, on Moor Lane, where an oak panelled entrance hall and handmade oak staircase leads to several room sets showcasing the work of some of the country’s leading cabinet makers.
■ The showroom is open Mondays to Fridays, 10am to 4pm, and on Saturdays by appointment.
■ The shop, at 2 Wood Lane, is open daily, 10am to 4pm.
■ Telephone 01756 753378.
■ www.royaloakfurniture.co.uk
Purchasing a piece of furniture from Royal Oak is an investment in a quality product…