Creative Outlet Spotlight: Nathan Narwold

Meet Nathan Narwold, a Partner at SV Design with a track record of impactful contributions to several architectural and commercial projects in Nashville, including Silo Studios, Elliston Place Soda Shop, Southeast Venture’s New Office, and Vanderbilt Dialysis Clinic. Beyond his professional role, Nathan leads a dynamic life as a husband and father, finding creative outlets in painting, furniture making, and woodworking. In this inaugural edition of SV Design’s Creative Outlet Spotlight, we’ll explore Nathan’s hands-on approach to DIY furniture, his passion for woodworking inherited from his father, and his recent return to portrait painting. Join us as we delve into the practical side of Nathan’s creative pursuits, shedding light on the person behind the professional.

Q: WE ALREADY KNOW NATHAN AT WORK, BUT WHO IS NATHAN OUTSIDE THE OFFICE?

My wife, Lauren, and I have a 9-year-old son named Ethan. As a family we tend to stay pretty busy with traveling and sports.  As time allows, I’m able to focus on my creative outlets which include painting, furniture making, and woodworking… but we’ll get into that.

Q: TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR PAINTINGS…

Over the last few years, I’ve taken back an early interest in painting, mainly portraits of family members. It’s a way for me to “pause time” and evoke memories of people that are important to me. Easily the most fulfilling part of the entire process is gifting the completed works to loved ones.

Q: THAT IS AWESOME.  WHERE DO YOU LOOK TO TAKE THIS ABILITY NEXT?

Up until now, I’ve only worked with acrylic paints, which are pretty responsive. I would like to get into oil paints, but  I’ll probably need an introductory course or two to learn the basics.

Q: HOW DID YOU INTO FURNITURE MAKING?

It was 2020.  Upon moving into our new house, we needed some custom furniture solutions.  To avoid the extended delivery delays, which were the norm at that time, I decided to try my hand at DIY-ing it.  So actually, I’ll say it was out of a bit of necessity and suddenly having the time for it.

I already knew the basics and had some experience from architectural model building and such in college. I realized it wouldn’t be too hard to translate that experience into furniture making with just a few basic tools.

Q: SO TELL US ABOUT THE PIECES PHOTOGRAPHED.

For the pieces, I replicated a simple detail by using oak veneer plywood and wood edge banding. Ultimately, I finished them with a weathered gray stain and applied a matte polyurethane coating.

Q: WHAT ABOUT YOUR INTEREST IN WOODWORKING? HOW DID YOU GET INTO THAT?  

The origin of my interest in woodworking likely comes from assisting my Dad in the garage from about as early as I can recall. He taught me the fundamentals of working with the material and the process of finishing. This skill has evolved through a bit of trial and error along the way, but I’m very pleased with the pieces I’ve been able to produce.

Q: DESCRIBE THESE PIECES.

I don’t know if I would really call them anything. These examples are essentially just small-scale form studies that caught my interest. I would generally start with a hardwood remnant, try to have a general idea, and then get to “sculpting” with various miter saw cuts. From there, if I felt the end result was interesting enough, I would sand and finish for decorative display.