Set Fire Lamp (detail)
salvaged manzanita, salvaged steel weight, cherry veneer, salvaged armature / 2010 72"× 12" × 24"Shown at Art From the Ashes. Materials were gathered from the fire site at Deukmejian Wilderness Park, Glendale CA, which burned during the Station Fire in August 2009.
- About
Stranger Furniture is a design-build studio producing modern, organic furniture and cabinetry from sustainable materials.
William Stranger has been building fine furniture with a minimalist sensibility since 1987. Celebrating the marriage of simple forms and natural materials, his work blurs the boundaries between art, design and craft. Each piece of stranger furniture is a unique object. The wood is carefully chosen and worked with the individual nature of the material in mind. Influenced by the basic structure of trees, Stranger strives to have as little impact on the environment as possible. His designs contrast organic forms with linear structures to reflect the intersection of nature and culture.
Stranger’s primary source of material is local urban salvage. Trees that are blown over or cut down due to disease or construction are milled on site or at the arborist’s yard. This process allows the use of unique wood that would otherwise be wasted and keeps trees out of the landfill. Other materials include F.S.C. certified lumber, scrap wood and steel left over from the fabrication process, reclaimed wood from demolished buildings and construction sites and alternative panel products with no added formaldehyde. Finishes include plant derived oils and zero V.O.C. top coats.
In 2005, Stranger’s Monolith Bench won best design in the Good Wood show at the Pasadena Museum of California Art (PMCA). He received an honorable mention for his Tava Lanes Coffee Table at the M+D+F show at Design Within Reach. His furniture has been exhibited in New York and Los Angeles and in 2008 his solo show, Second Growth, opened at the PMCA. Stranger’s work has been published in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Dwell, Interior Design, Flaunt and Luxe.
- Region
- Pasadena, CA
- Website
- www.strangerfurniture.com
- Media
- Wood
- Professional Status
- Designer/maker
Portfolio

3 Rivers Table
California black oak. / 2005 12" × 60" × 60"Designed in collaboration with architect Polly Osborne, the table incorporates a thick jacket cut from the outside edge of a salvaged California black oak.

Mugon Chair
salvaged California walnut, Itajime Dusk by Philomela / 2019 34" × 28" × 35"Influenced by Japanese shibui aesthetics of subtle and unobtrusive beauty, the chair balances simplicity of form with rich natural material and complex pattern. It’s finely crafted structure and subtle texture imbue it with an implicit tranquility.
Set Fire Lamp (detail)
salvaged manzanita, salvaged steel weight, cherry veneer, salvaged armature / 2010 72"× 12" × 24"Shown at Art From the Ashes. Materials were gathered from the fire site at Deukmejian Wilderness Park, Glendale CA, which burned during the Station Fire in August 2009.

Dial M Dresser
black walnut / 2020 31" × 66" × 21"A book-matched pair of walnut boards form the top and face of this large four drawer dresser.

Light (gets in) desk
salvaged silver maple and walnut / 2005 29" × 72" × 30"This version of the Light (gets in) desk features a single slab top of locally salvaged silver maple, a pencil drawer and a skinny shelf.