When Sam Maloof died in 2009, at 93, he left behind an enormous stash of lumber. Even in his last years, with more wood on hand than he could ever possibly use, he kept on buying. He loved wood and loved working it. He also left behind the captivating house he had built, room by room, over the decades an hour east of Los Angeles (without ever pulling a permit, he once confided with a smile).

In 2000, when a highway came through, the house, by then on the National Register of Historic Places, was moved to a property several miles away, where it is now open as a museum and where you’ll also find the workshop of Sam Maloof Woodworker, now run by Mike Johnson, who spent 30 years working directly with Sam.

Maloof learned the basics of furniture making working for the industrial designer Harold Graham; otherwise he was self-taught, and bootstrapped himself into a rarified place as the designer and maker of one of the most iconic chairs of the 20th century. The Maloof rocker, which has made its way into museums, the White House, and private homes worldwide, is catnip for aspiring chairmakers, who are drawn to its style and technical challenges.

Maloof’s skill as a craftsman was best appreciated at the bandsaw, which he played like a violin as he free-handed S-curved slats, arms, and rockers, breaking every rule of standard bandsawing. “Don’t do it like I do,” he said. “I only do it this way because I didn’t know any better.”

Onward and upward

Like Esherick and Nakashima, Maloof spent years building his own house and filling it with furniture. And like them, he worked indefatigably, right to the end of his life. The photos on this page were all taken at his home, which included his workshop.

The austere Maloof

Though famous for the flowing curves of his rockers, Maloof had a more restrained side that emerged when he designed case pieces, which tended toward rectilinear simplicity.

Maloof’s furniture has inspired woodworkers of all stripes. But as anyone who met him even briefly discovered, his personality might have been his most compelling trait. It combined charisma and charm with thoughtfulness, a listener’s ear, a gift for friendship, and an inexhaustible appetite for engaging with others.

View PDF