click to enlarge Side Board. Wenge and ash. “Design is not just the way something looks. It’s how you experience it,” says renowned furniture maker Michael Puryear. “Most of us have seen furniture that looks very attractive, but when you use it, it doesn’t do what it needs to do.” Owning a piece of furniture that feels customized to your home and personal needs is something that many people rarely experience, but it’s a feeling that Puryear wants his work to elicit for every client who commissions his work. click to enlarge Bench. Bubinga and leather. Puryear’s style is striking in its elegant simplicity, yet defies categorization. He draws on Scandinavian and Shaker design and African culture, and often uses contrasting wood