Why the Finish Matters

Why the Finish Matters

by Esvee Editorial on

3 min read

A finish is the last thing anyone notices on a piece of furniture, and yet it is the thing that decides almost everything else. It decides how the grain catches light, how the wood feels under your palm, and how long the piece will age well instead of just ageing.

But for us, the story of why finish matters did not begin with aesthetics. It began when our polisher kept falling sick.

One of our core values is building a healthy environment: inside homes, in our surrounding ecosystems, and above all, for the those who bring our furniture to life with their own hands. 

In our early days, like most furniture makers, we used standard Polyurethane (PU) finishes. It was what the industry used; nobody questioned it. But when our polisher began taking frequent sick leave, we sat down to ask what was happening.

What we learned was sobering. Even with a 3-layer industrial-grade mask, the volatile chemical fumes he used day after day had taken a direct toll on his lungs. A slow, creeping damage that suddenly became severe. In that moment, the choice of finish stopped being a technical specification and became a moral one.

Aware of the off-gassing effects of conventional finishes in living environments, the realization hit home when we saw up close the irreversible damage the conventional finishes and toxins were doing to the makers in our ecosystem; there was no decision left to make. We phased out PU entirely, knowing it would mean a slower, more expensive path forward.

Our search led us to Rubio Monocoat, a plant-based finish from Belgium with 0% Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).

Unlike conventional finishes that coat timber in a rigid plastic shell, a zero-VOC natural oil penetrates deep into the grain, binding at a molecular level to let the wood breathe. It deepens the timber’s inherent warmth without obscuring its surface, keeping every ray, fleck, and organic shift fully tactile under the hand. Our shift to zero-VOC finishes serves two clear, non-negotiable promises,

For the Maker: Zero toxic fumes, zero chemical exposure, and absolute safety on the workshop floor.

For the Home: A completely non-toxic, food-safe surface designed for intimate, daily living.

For our practice, the health of the wood and the health of the hands shaping it were never separate concerns; they were always part of the same story.

The right finish does not fight the material. It listens to it, protects it, and lets it become more itself.

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