The Radburn Hall Tree

This piece was a personal project inspired by a piece I saw in a neighbor's house.

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Radburn houses were small affordable housing units built in the 1930s. Compared to today's designs, they can often present space challenges. As an example, one of my neighbors had a large hall tree crammed into a very small foyer. It didn't look right, and I filed that thought away for the future.

At some point it resurfaced and I decided to design and build a more appropriately sized hall tree for a small foyer. The Radburn Hall Tree was born!

Project Design Process

To match the trim in the foyer, I knew I'd be using red oak for the hall tree's construction. Most hall trees incorporate a seat, but I knew mine would have more of a suggestion of a seat due to the reduced depth of my design. In the end, the piece only protrudes from the wall eight inches, so while you could sit on the seat, it's a bit of a balancing act. 

There is storage in the bench via a flip-up seat and a flip-down door below. All the visible hardware - hooks and handles - are original Radburn hardware. The beadboard back was a call-back design choice for a historical feel. Best of all, the piece is guaranteed to fit in any Radburn (or small) foyer!