NR HILLER DESIGN, INC.

CUSTOM FURNITURE & CABINETRY

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About

_MG_0079Inspired by architecture and furnishings from the late-19th through the mid–20th century, I design and build furniture and cabinetry with a strong period sensibility. I take pride in seeing each job through from start to finish—from close discussion of aesthetic and practical considerations to drawing, production, and painstaking installation.

Every job I undertake is highly customized in design and craftsmanship. I specialize in paying such close attention to the character of my clients’ homes that my work is often mistaken for part of their houses’ original fabric—though my goal is not to deceive, but to honor architectural character and history.

With formal training and over 30 years of professional experience as a designer-builder of furniture and cabinetry, I draw on a variety of techniques including hand-cut dovetails, hand turning of cabinet pulls, carving, and finely scribed installations.

My work has been published in Fine Woodworking, Popular Woodworking, Fine Homebuilding, Old-House Interiors, Old-House Journal, American Bungalow, Arts & Crafts Homes and the Revival, and Style: 1900, among other magazines and special-interest publications.

Nancy Hiller is a rare beast of a cabinet maker, scholar and writer.”
— Johnny Grey, Author of The Art of Kitchen Design and Kitchen Culture

 

Background

I trained as a furniture maker in England, where I lived for 16 years from the time I turned 12. After earning a City and Guilds of London certificate I worked for Roy Griffiths, a Slade School of Art-trained designer, building old pine kitchens at his Crosskeys Joinery. I later worked for Millside Cabinetmakers and briefly in the carpentry shop of the Imperial War Museum at Duxford Airbase before returning to the United States. Here I worked for Wall-Goldfinger and Credence Custom Furniture before opening NR Hiller Design, Inc. in 1995. I have taught cabinetmaking, furniture, and finishing courses at Kelly Mehler’s School of Woodworking, the Kansas City Woodworkers’ Guild, Lost Art Press storefront, and  Marc Adams School of Woodworking and am a member of the Society of American Period Furniture Makers as well as a Companion of the Guild of St. George.

Nancy Hiller Curriculum Vitae (PDF)

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I build from scratch, starting with rough-sawn lumber. The commercially purchased lumber I use is Forestry Stewardship Council-certified. Whenever feasible, I buy lumber that has been locally grown, sawn, and kiln dried. I am glad to incorporate salvaged lumber, hardware, and cabinet parts when practical.

When a project calls for sheet materials I buy high quality, with a preference for American-made, formaldehyde-free products: ¾-inch veneer-core plywood (not medium-density fiberboard/”m.d.f.”) for cabinet casework, spline-jointed, glued, and screwed together for maximum strength and durability; plywood (not m.d.f.) backs and drawer bottoms, etc. On the other hand, when m.d.f. is the best material for the job, such as these custom-veneered architectural panels, that’s what I use.

Non-toxic finishes available include milk paint, shellac, and oils.

 We had been saving up for a car. Cars wear out. Your work wears in.”
— P. Ash, Bloomington, Indiana

 

 

Five decades in wood

1976

1976, Islington, London: Helping my mother and stepfather work on old houses

1980: My first commission

1980, Friday Bridge, Cambridgeshire: My first commission

1997

1997, Bloomington, Indiana: Working on my house (Photo by Kendall Reeves)

2003

2002, Bloomington: Photo shoot for Fine Woodworking (Photo by Kendall Reeves)

2012 (Photo by Jim Krause)

2012, Belmont, Indiana: Demonstration of handcut dovetails at the studio of painter Theodore Clement Steele (Photo by Jim Krause)

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Cousins! I have two of the best in Gail Hiller Lee Cousins! I have two of the best in Gail Hiller Lee (not on Instagram) and @jeanaburgess1 . I have zero memory of the circumstances that inspired the first picture here, which Gail sent last night. She’s at top left; my sister @magdahiller is the one on the right inside the playpen. Our cousin Scott’s between them. (Note that the eldest cousin, yours truly, declined to join them,  though I have no doubt I was egging them on.) 

Gail and I have been in touch several times over the past few days, ever since I received a statement from the hospital for $51,000 (pre-insurance) for my chemo port placement and *one* chemo infusion. In a panic, I got in touch with her, knowing that she is an insurance broker in New York. She talked me down, big-time, and looked over our insurance policy, then enlightened me about a number of features I was not aware of. That was so helpful. I realized that other self-employed woodworkers who don’t get health insurance through their spouses would probably benefit from some of the same information. So yesterday I interviewed her for my February post at the @finewoodworkingmagazine Pro’s Corner blog (yes @benstrano more about insurance), which will focus on the stuff many of us don’t know anything about when it comes to buying health insurance.

The next snapshot shows my sister and me (on the ground; again, the oldest one, post-yoga headstand) with Jean, who has made her career in accounting and is just as impressive personally and professionally as Gail.  We are fortunate to have these women in our family.
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#cousins #cousinsquad
Fun. This is how I write—I mean, when I’m writ Fun. This is how I write—I mean, when I’m writing a profile, essay, or story, in this case a chapter for “Shop Tails,” which I am thoroughly enjoying. This here is the third draft; I just made the edits and will let it sit a while before I go back at it. 

I cannot overstate how much fun I find this process of memory, vivid images, critical analysis, and playing with words. For me it’s one of the richest sources of revelation.
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#writing #overandoveragain #editordie #wordlover #wordloversunite #grammarmatters #englishgrammar #animallover #shoptails
Proof of life. After weeks spent on kitchen design Proof of life. After weeks spent on kitchen design jobs, writing, and medical stuff, I’ve started work on a set of built-in bookcases. With luck, Mark and I will be installing these at the end of next week.

One important bit of writing was this month’s post for the blog at #finewoodworkingmagazine about what it means to be a “successful woodworker.“ People I know define success in so many ways, often by comparing their work to that of others, by how much money they make or how busy they are, and some by wowing people with their skills. So much of this is based on competition. Never a good basis for self-esteem or judging others. For my take, see the link in my profile.
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#success #definingsuccess #successful #successfulwomen #satisfaction #goodwork #themeaningoflife #meaning #lifeworthliving
Shout out to @cardinalspirits ! The people at our Shout out to @cardinalspirits ! The people at our locally owned distillery have been extraordinarily resilient in response to the pandemic — making hand sanitizer when none was available, cocktails and kits you can buy in stores, and keeping their excellent kitchen in business even when the distillery is closed for dining in. These pork belly tacos that Mark had yesterday looked beautiful, and the corn smelled divine. And here’s to a food business that serves carry-out in food-safe compostable containers! So rare. And so important. Thank you, Jeff and Erica!
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#snowday #hikeinthewoods #goodfood #cardinalspirits #yay #goodpeople #indianabusiness
I am so grateful to have this man as my partner. H I am so grateful to have this man as my partner. He recently found this ridiculous photo from 2007. We both look a lot younger! As @chbecksvoort49 says, life is so lovely when you have a good partner. Mark is a gentle, caring soul. Incredibly resilient. Deeply thoughtful. An excellent builder and carpenter. Loyal friend. Spoiler of domestic animals. Occasional annoying dude. Altogether a wonderful human being with whom I am blessed to make a life.
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#throwbackthursday #tbt❤ #grateful #gratitude #marriage
Nap time for Piggy. While I have chemo drugs drip Nap time for Piggy. While I have chemo drugs drip into my bloodstream, Tony has laid claim to Joey’s fleece. More dangerous is that he’s sharing the fleece with the pig, which has become Joey’s favorite toy. Fortunately Mark is monitoring the situation. 

And while this post is not about work, I am working on my laptop, writing post for the @finewoodworkingmagazine blog and a letter of recommendation for someone I admire (a lot).
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#dogsandcats #work #ilovemywork
A day packed with drawing time and calls with a cl A day packed with drawing time and calls with a client in Rhode Island. There’s nothing like having historians as clients during interesting times. At the end of the day I found Mark chopping wood and had to catch this image with the hillside glowing in the background.
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#saturdaywork #kitchendesign #thankyouteachers #historiansrock #ilovehistory #thisishistory #historyiseverything
By hand. This is how I draw kitchens. My drawings By hand. This is how I draw kitchens. My drawings are of course terribly prosaic compared to those gorgeous colored renderings by @johnnygreystudios but they do the job. Despite their arguable advantages, CAD images leave me cold. It has been super rewarding to get back to this particular kitchen design, for clients in St. Louis. I’m also working on another set for clients in Providence, Rhode Island. So fun! Another highlight of today: I completed a blog post about @furnituremaking which should be up at Lost Art Press this weekend and took delivery of materials for the next shop job, which will occupy my next good week (after chemo week...). A big thumbs up to good days.
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#customcabinetrydesign #cabinetmaker #customkitchens #drawings #byhand
This is the look of a cat who has become thoroughl This is the look of a cat who has become thoroughly spoiled by living in the house, after a day of suffering the terrible conditions of the shop for just one day. “Don’t ever do that to me again! I need my woodstove in winter.” 
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#catsofinstagram #shoplife
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Society of American Period Furniture Makers

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