Who is Michael McQuay
Michael McQuay grew up in the rolling hills of Vermont, where barns, craftsmanship, and woodwork were part of the everyday landscape. As a kid, he often wandered into his neighbor’s small workshop, drawn by the smell of fresh sawdust and the hum of tools. The neighbor, a retired carpenter, welcomed his curiosity and let him sand oak chairs, patch worn table legs, and learn how patience could turn tired pieces back to life. That early experience sparked a lifelong interest in what makes furniture both beautiful and durable.
After high school, Michael attended the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), studying Furniture Design and Woodworking. He gravitated toward classes in material science, finishes, and restoration. After graduating, he took a job with a boutique furniture maker in New York, spending several years designing custom pieces and overseeing maintenance and restoration for clients in both city lofts and rural retreats.
Transition to Writing & Enkle Designs
By the early 2020s Michael sensed a gap: people constantly had questions about caring for furniture whether mass produced or heirloom but often the advice was either too technical, too vague. Or coming from people who hadn’t worked with many different materials, climates, and living conditions. In 2025 he resolved to start Enkle Designs, a blog devoted to sharing clear, trustworthy, and practical guidance on furniture and furniture maintenance. His goal: demystify finishes, help readers trust themselves to clean, restore, or maintain with confidence, and preserve both style and utility.
Professional Philosophy & Lifestyle
Michael is part craftsman, part teacher. He believes that good furniture isn’t just about good looks it’s about resilience, about how a chair weathers time, how a wood tabletop survives heat and humidity, how upholstery stands up to everyday life. He lives now in an old craftsman style house on the outskirts of Portland, Oregon. Where seasonal changes test different materials and techniques. He works in a modest workshop in his backyard, experiments with finishes, and collaborates with local woodworkers and upholsterers to stay in touch with both tradition and innovation.
He travels occasionally to trade shows, workshops, and craft traditions from Scandinavia to Japan to see how climate and culture shape furniture care and joinery. Those trips influence much of his writing: he often draws on what he’s learned repairing a teak deck in rainy Seattle or treating oak indoors in dry winter climates.
Why Enkle Designs Exists
Enkle Designs was founded with a simple purpose: to make furniture knowledge accessible. Too often, people struggle with unclear instructions, costly mistakes, or conflicting advice. This blog bridges that gap by offering straightforward explanations backed by real workshop experience. It’s not about trends or jargon it’s about giving readers reliable solutions they can apply in their own homes.
What Enkle Designs Offers You
Enkle Designs is Michael’s way of distilling what he’s learned into useful articles that answer the questions people have in real life: how to remove water stains from hardwood, whether wax or oil is better for a dining table. How to prevent rust on metal legs, how to care for upholstery in humid environments, and so on. Every post is meant to be easy to understand, backed by hands on experience (his own experiments, fixes, and sometimes failures), and relevant whether you live in a small urban apartment or a big rural house.
Michael started this blog in 2025 with the hope that anyone from a fledgling DIYer to a seasoned furniture lover would find something helpful here. Over time, he hopes Enkle Designs becomes a trusted go-to resource for those who want furniture that lasts and looks its best in the process.