CHRIS LEHRECKE has been designing and building furniture since 1982. While his early pieces were influenced by a number of enduring design traditions–African, Asian, Shaker, and Scandinavian–they consistently maintained a modern sensibility. A primitive quality remains evident in all the work, but so, too, does a sense of refinement in design and material. Design and fabrication have always been allies in his work; whether in limited production or one-of-a-kind pieces, the physical process of making his own pieces has always been essential to Lehrecke’s practice.

In 1997, he moved to New York’s Hudson Valley with his wife, jeweler Gabriella Kiss, and their sons, Jack and August. The barn he built on the property and its surrounding meadows offer the space not only to collect a broad range of local woods, but to have them milled and dried. These varied woods–walnut, cherry, ash, maple, oak, hickory, butternut–as well as the beautiful surroundings offer continuing inspiration. Lehrecke’s work is included in the permanent collection of the Brooklyn Museum, which also awarded him its distinguished Modernism/Young Designer Award in 1997. In addition to designing furniture and lighting for Ralph Pucci International, he has collaborated with other gifted artisans, among them E.R. Butler, Ted Muehling, and Gabriella Kiss.

(Source: Chris Lehrecke; Photo Credit: Elle Decor)