Design studyMaterials
Materials that earn their place
We work only in materials that earn their place — chosen without regard to origin, only to standard. Brass, bronze, stainless steel, rare hardwoods and stone, held to the same rule: chosen to be lived with, not just looked at.
What we build with
Six materials, one rule
Every material used in a Zachary Alexander commission is specified before a board is cut, and none of it is chosen because it is convenient.
- Hardwoods
- Figured mahogany, quarter-sawn oak, American black walnut and paint-grade poplar, walked and graded by hand so grain and color read as one continuous thought across an entire commission.
- Brass & bronze
- Unlacquered brass and solid bronze pulls, knobs, rails and mesh — chosen to age rather than to stay new. Certain signature details carry hardware proprietary to Zachary Alexander, made specifically for each commission.
- Stainless steel
- Where a working room demands it: sinks, rails and fittings specified for the way a kitchen is actually used, detailed so they sit inside the cabinetry rather than on top of it.
- Stone
- Marble, quartzite and soapstone selected slab by slab, with edge profiles — including thick Roman ogee — cut and polished to suit the room's proportion, not a fabricator's default.
- Finishes
- Hand-applied stains, hand-painted color and glazes built in thin layers with full cure time between coats. The stage that decides how cabinetry looks in year fifty.
- Leather & textiles
- Bench tops, drawer linings and strapping in full-grain leather, used where a surface is touched daily and should improve with it.
Design studyProprietary hardware
Made for one commission, and no other
Some details cannot be bought. Where a room needs hardware that does not exist, we have it made — designed here, produced to our drawings, and fitted only to the cabinetry it was drawn for.
Specify your commission
Serving Greater Boston, the South Shore, and Cape & Islands. Tell us about the rooms and we will walk the materials with you — 866-203-6272.
Begin a commission