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)

More

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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Several weeks ago someone asked how I decide where Several weeks ago someone asked how I decide where to locate door and drawer pulls. My latest post for the Pro’s Corner blog at @finewoodworkingmagazine is a detailed answer. Link in profile.

i’m always happy to have requests for blog post topics. I write one every month and will consider any suggestions, so jump in and send them by direct message!

The armoire here is an Art Deco original with Bakelite pulls that are like cats’ eyes. I bought the piece years ago at our local Habitat ReStore. The ceiling fan pulls are by @mladler6 .
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#customfurniture #customfurnituredesign #customfurnituremaker #furnituredesign #customcabinetry #customcabinetmaker #furniturehardware #cabinethardware #finewoodworking
While looking for a recipe the other day I noticed While looking for a recipe the other day I noticed the diversity of comments I’ve made over the past couple of weeks. Mark bought a subscription to the New York Times cooking site and I have been experimenting. The kale salad is divine, if you adjust the ingredients to your taste. I can’t imagine using the recommended quantity of olive oil.
Daniel @ogradycustom just sent snapshots of the ki Daniel @ogradycustom just sent snapshots of the kitchen he did for Kim and Sam @swaction and gave the thumbs up to me sharing a few. 

It’s deeply gratifying to see my drawings brought to such beautifully crafted life — and skillfully adapted in cases such as the exhaust hood, which had to be reworked after changes to the window plan. And yes, those are some @benchcrafted Swing Out seats (I hope I got that name right, FJ and Jameel). You do me proud, Daniel.

Most of my day went to an out-of-town CT scan.
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#customcabinetrydesign #craftsmanship #highlyrecommended #craftsman #furnituremaker #bigchillappliances #bungalowkitchen #oldhouselove #oldhousekitchen #benchcrafted #pancreaticcancer
Tonight we are grateful to @lynettebretondesign fo Tonight we are grateful to @lynettebretondesign for her divine sun-dried tomatoes and to my great friend Marianne Palmer for introducing me to socca. This is soul food. Yum!
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#love #pancreaticcancer
Currently in our living room. Mark was busy today. Currently in our living room. Mark was busy today. Now it’s Tony’s turn.
Thanks to @swaction for sending these shots of Dan Thanks to @swaction for sending these shots of Daniel O’Grady @ogradycustom and his employee, Jesse, in the final stretch of a kitchen for which I designed the cabinets many months ago. The second photo shows a vent hood that Daniel designed in discussion with the clients after some structural changes to the space made the original design impossible to implement.

I take my hat off to Daniel, who has been through plenty of late and kept his eyes on the prize. He’s a paragon of conscientiousness. I feel like a bit of a slacker sitting here watching the progress take place without any input from me.
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#kitchencabinetry #fullcustomcabinets #goodwork #reliable #customwoodwork #customcabinetmaker
Today we are remembering my stepson, Jonas Longacr Today we are remembering my stepson, Jonas Longacre, who — still incredibly— died on this day in 2014 at the age of 15 as a result of what is commonly known as the choking game. He fit the typical profile: intelligent, athletic, good at music, school, and outdoor skills, in addition to languages, both historical and constructed. He was thoughtful and had no interest in alcohol or drugs — also typical for kids who engage in this practice. 

Some months after his death, Megan Fitzpatrick @1snugthejoiner asked if I would like to do a bookcase article for Popular Woodworking, where she was the chief editor. (Not sure that’s the official term, but I can count on her to correct me!). This is the one I ended up building. It’s in the December 2015 issue, which I saw for the first time over dinner in an interstate chain restaurant while driving back to Indiana from a kitchen job in Washington DC. We called it The Jonas Longacre Memorial Bookcase, because he was a serious bibliophile, and put it in his room until we moved in 2016. Now it’s in our upstairs loft room, next to the guitar Mark had bought for him and the basic version of a guitar that Jonas made.
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#choking #chokinggame #chokinggameawareness #erikscause
Kudos to @danielle_rose_byrd, if belatedly, on “ Kudos to @danielle_rose_byrd, if belatedly, on “The Handcarved Bowl.” I bought this book when it was published, mainly because I admire Danielle and wanted to add my dollars to support her solid, enterprising, and bold artistic work. I gave it to Mark for Christmas, after he expressed an interest in learning to carve spoons. 

He has read most of the book over the past few days and is suitably impressed — not only by the meticulous discussion of materials and techniques, but the thoughtful inclusion of a great section on body care, a topic dear to Mark, who has just retired from a career spent building and remodeling houses. (He has long called his visits to the masseur and chiropractor “tool maintenance.”) Thank you, Danielle, @petergalbert and @bluehillspress !
Photo of Bloomington’s City Hall by @aerisaema 
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#bowlcarving #highlyrecommended #womeninwoodworking #greenwoodworking
Our house is furnished with stuff that didn’t se Our house is furnished with stuff that didn’t sell. This decidedly over-the-top yet simple cabinet (behind Mark) was in a show at the state museum juried by @wendymaruyama whom I was thrilled to meet (briefly!) at the opening, several years ago. There’s a reason (other than basic bad taste — and I’m too tired to qualify or defend that) for the gaudy design, but it’s too much for this post.

This post is especially for @ashanahan5 who will appreciate the heart (dangerously good, David).
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#trustworthstudios #luckyme #furnituremaker
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Society of American Period Furniture Makers

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