Thomas Harder Furniture

Thomas constructed and installed a wall-​mounted bookcase that I love. It doesn’t sound like a huge project, and it wasn’t — but he has a wonderful way of making the process thoughtful and creative. He knows a lot (and I mean a lot) about wood, about installation, and about the practicalities of wear and tear. I hope to work with him again on other projects.

Thomas is the first person I think of when I am ready to transform a space in my home. He not only built gorgeous cabinetry for my kitchen, he infused his creative ideas into the overall design of the kitchen. He later helped me convert my laundry room into a gorgeous home office with built in cabinetry and desk. I recently converted two rooms into a rental unit, and it was his design and excecution that made the original idea into another beautiful space in my house. I always feel that Thomas collaborates with me on the initial design, and then he creates something far more beautiful and useful than I had envisioned. He is a master at using space creatively, and always comes up with a unique and sophisticated design. I can’t recommend him enough.

Thomas Harder built the fixtures for my retail store. I needed narrow tables, a wrap desk and a very long display bar with hooks. He suggested using recycled fir, and the color was exactly what I was looking for. He was easy to work with and reasonably priced. He leveled the tables on site, and installed everything, including my dressing room hooks in a few hours. I would highly recommend Thomas if you want something unique and high quality for your store, or your home.

Thomas designed and built a desk, bookshelves, and filing cabinets for my home office. The design process was interesting because I really wanted a laminate desktop surface, which was a material that Thomas was familiar with but rarely if ever uses. He helped figure out a way that the laminate could blend perfectly with the wood everywhere else and how to combine art with practicality in every element of the final result. He was very focused on details like edges, handles, glides, and dimensions, frequently asking me how I would use this or that. And he came up with the idea of making it modular so that when I move someday, I can easily take the pieces apart and even reconfigure it if necessary. Five years later, I love working in my office.
Thomas has also done an entirely practical project for me, removing and rebuilding some kitchen cabinets to accommodate a taller refrigerator. He was willing to deconstruct a cabinet where other carpenters would only build a new one (that would cost more and never match perfectly) because they were afraid the existing one would fall apart. Thomas figured out how everything was put together and not only completed the job beautifully, but was able to choose from 2 different approaches that both would have worked.

My handcrafted front door is the best feature of my house. When prolonged exposure to the elements started cracking it, I searched the Internet for the name of a woodworker who could fix it. Thomas Harder was recommended by the Berkeley Parents’ Network. I actually reached Thomas on the first call. He came over promptly. He removed the door, painstakingly (and lovingly) patched the cracks, and sanded it down. He then reinstalled the door and applied several coats of varnish over several days. It looks gorgeous again. Thomas was also able to work the same magic on some weathered interior doors and cabinetry. In addition to onsite work, Thomas also designs and builds elegant, spare furniture. Thomas is one of those rare birds – a master artisan who is passionate about his craft. I cannot recommend him highly enough.