Custom Wood Components for Architects

Custom Wood Components for Architects in Los Angeles

Architectural projects live or die in the details. The species you spec, the grain orientation, the rift versus quartersawn cut, the way two adjacent panels match across a joint - these decisions get drawn at 1/4″ scale and then have to come true in real material. The millshop you partner with determines whether your construction documents survive contact with the build. At House of Hardwood, we work with architects, architectural designers, and specifying firms across Los Angeles as a long-term materials and millwork partner. We have been operating out of our Wellesley Avenue yard since 1947, and architectural firms have been on our customer list for decades.

This page is for the architect, the project architect, the interior designer working on an architectural team, and the specifier. If you are scoping a project, comparing material options, putting a specification together, or looking for a millshop that will pick up the phone when something needs to ship next week, start here.

How We Work With Architectural Firms

The architects we work with best treat us as a project resource, not just a supplier. The pattern that produces the best results:

1. Early conversation during schematic or design development. What species are you considering? What look does the client want? What is the budget envelope? We help narrow species, cuts, and finishes before they get locked into the construction documents.
2. Material samples for client presentations. We fabricate physical samples in the species, cut, and finish you are specifying. Photos and digital renderings cannot communicate grain, color, and figure the way a real board does.
3. Specification language support. Once species and cuts are decided, we can review the relevant sections of your specification and flag anything that will create sourcing or production issues during construction.
4. Submittals and approval samples during construction. When the project goes out to bid and the woodwork subcontractor places the order, we provide approval samples, mill the components, and coordinate delivery to the GC’s schedule.

We are happy to start at any point in that process. Some projects come to us at SD; others arrive as a finished spec from the woodwork subcontractor. Both work.

Component Categories

We mill and fabricate the full range of architectural wood components your projects call for:

• Custom architectural panels for feature walls, ceiling, and cladding
• Wood slat walls and ceiling systems
• Custom moulding and trim to drawing or matched profile
• Door jambs, frames, and pre-hung units in any species
• Wainscoting and frame-and-panel wall systems
• Coffered ceilings, beamed ceilings, and exposed timber framing
• Custom countertops, conference tables, and tabletop components
• Fireplace mantels and surrounds
• Bar tops, reception desk tops, and transaction surfaces
• Built-in shelf and bookcase components
• Custom siding and exterior architectural cladding
• Pergola, ramada, and outdoor structure framing
• Live-edge slab feature pieces from our slab inventory
• Hardwood flooring components, stair treads, and risers

For full casework and millwork assemblies (kitchens, full library walls, integrated casework runs), we typically supply lumber and components to your specified woodwork subcontractor. For standalone pieces, we fabricate in-house.

Species, Sourcing, and Hard-to-Find Material

Our stocked species cover most architectural specifications: white oak, walnut, maple, cherry, sapele, mahogany, hickory, ash, poplar, ipe, teak, Spanish cedar, Douglas fir, and clear redwood, with regular inventory in domestic and exotic species. We also keep live-edge slabs in walnut, claro walnut, sycamore, oak, and other species.

For projects calling for unusual species, specific figure (curly, quilted, fiddleback), narrow color ranges, or matched lots across a multi-room install, we source directly. Lead times depend on what is available globally; rare figured stock can take weeks to months to find. Bring sourcing conversations to us as early as possible in design.

Specifications, Samples, and Submittals

For projects specified to AWI standards (Architectural Woodwork Institute Custom or Premium grade), we work to the dimensional tolerances, joinery requirements, and finish standards your specification calls out. AWI Premium-grade casework assemblies are typically built by dedicated woodwork shops; we supply the lumber and milled components to those shops or, for simpler finished pieces (tabletops, countertops, mantels, paneling components), fabricate directly.

Sample fabrication is part of how we work. We provide:

• Species and finish samples on standard sample boards
• Custom sample sizes for client presentations
• Matched veneer samples for panel-grade work
• Finish-applied samples for approval and signoff
• Pre-production approval samples for milled profiles

Tell us what the architect, the GC, or the client needs to see, and we will fabricate the sample.

Project Coordination and Scheduling

Architectural projects run on schedules. Materials that arrive a week late hold up a finish trade that holds up the next trade and ripples through the project. We coordinate delivery dates with your GC and woodwork subcontractor and flag any species or production constraints that could affect the schedule.

Standard milling in stocked species ships in one to two weeks. Custom profiles, special-order species, and large multi-room packages run three to six weeks or longer depending on scope. For projects with critical milestone dates, we recommend phased delivery so trim does not arrive before the GC is ready for it.

Sustainability and FSC Documentation

For projects pursuing LEED, WELL, Living Building Challenge, or specific client sustainability commitments, we carry FSC certified stock in select species and source additional certified material as needed. Chain of custody documentation is provided for project files. Raise FSC requirements early; certified inventory across the industry is more limited than conventional stock, particularly in exotic species, and lead times vary.

For specifications calling for reclaimed wood, urban salvage, or specific environmental product declarations (EPDs), let us know what the spec requires and we will tell you honestly what we can source and what we cannot.

Recent Project Types

We have supplied architectural components for hillside modern residences in the Hollywood Hills and Bel Air, Spanish Revival restorations in Hancock Park and Pasadena, hotel guest room and lobby buildouts across the Westside, restaurant and hospitality projects throughout LA, retail tenant improvements, executive office suites in Century City and downtown, and creative office buildouts for tech and entertainment companies.

A note on installation: We supply materials and fabricate components, but we do not install on site or provide field measurement services. Installation is handled by your GC, woodwork subcontractor, or finish carpenter.