No. 01 · 2025
The Mangrove Residence
Port Royal, Naples
Specification — Rift-cut white oak · brushed brass · honed Calacatta
Read the case studyReference build by JRM Agency — sample site for portfolio purposes only.Back to portfolio
Issue 014 · Spring / Summer
Cabinetry,
in the slow tradition.
A small Naples millwork studio designing and building custom kitchens, libraries, and built-ins from raw lumber to final installation. Eight-week lead times. Three projects at a time.
Our Position
Forge & Oak builds the cabinet that outlives the kitchen it was designed for. Hand-fitted, dovetailed, finished by the same hands that drew it.
Selected Work
Three studies in
domestic detail.
No. 02 · 2024
Coquina Court
Aqualane Shores
Specification — Hand-rubbed walnut · blackened steel · soapstone
Read the case study
No. 03 · 2024
The Olde Naples Pied-à-terre
Olde Naples
Specification — Painted poplar · unlacquered brass · Carrara
Read the case studyThe Process
From the first drawing
to the last hinge.
I.
Measure & Brief
We site-measure, photograph, and interview. Within ten days you receive a written brief with materials, hardware, and a finished-look mood board.
II.
Design & Render
Hand sketches first, then 3D rendering. Two rounds of revision. You sign drawings — not contracts of intent — before we cut a single board.
III.
Build in Studio
Six to eight weeks in our Naples shop. Every piece is dovetailed, sanded by hand, and finished in a controlled-humidity room before it leaves.
IV.
Install & Finish
Our installers — not a sub — set the cabinetry, adjust every door, and walk you through care. Ten-year warranty, in writing.
Materials
The library.
We keep a small, considered library of woods, metals, and stone — every sample we specify is one we have built with personally.
The Studio
Naples shop.
Six pairs of hands.
Lena Holloway founded Forge & Oak after fifteen years between Connecticut shops and a furniture program at the Rhode Island School of Design. The studio runs three builders, two finishers, and one designer — by design.
We take three projects at a time. We don't outsource the build, the finish, or the install. The person who drew it is the person who delivers it.
Visit the StudioBegin a Project
Let's start with a
conversation.
Most projects open with an in-home visit. Tell us a little about the room, the home, and what you've been thinking about. We'll write you back personally.