meet Ronald Riley - owner/designer
The craftsman I am today started out in an extra bedroom in my apartment in 2004 with only a handsaw, drill and sander. I can recall the exact moment while sanding down an old dresser that I realized this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. While repurposing old furniture I would often take apart and repair structural parts of the original pieces. Through this process I was able to observe the structure and techniques used and teach them to
myself. I decided I didn’t just want to rebuild and recreate older pieces but that I wanted to design and build my own furniture. After building my first piece, a shaker end table in 2005, I was addicted at the first scent of fresh cut wood! Building furniture for me was instinctive and seemed to come to me naturally. Both my grandfathers Benjamin Riley and Edward Parker were fine craftsmen, and they are inspiration for what is now Riley Parker Design. Though they both passed away while I was still young, I believe building furniture just runs through my blood.
I love what I do and I want you to love it too!
What sets me apart is my passionate approach to how I design and create furniture to express my vision. Each piece is a personal and thought out expression of my emotional connection to each design. As with writing a song or a poem that people often relate to their own personal experience, I want my clients to take my expression and make it their own. My goal is to design and repurpose pieces that express elegant and enduring designs to achieve a sense of harmony with the interiors that will surround them.
I strive to keep Riley Parker Design an eviromentally friendly company. I believe in the use of reclaimed lumber not just based on the environmental impact it has, but also because of its rustic beauty and the stories behind the materials' origin. This is also why in creating my own designs I'll continue to repurpose old furniture to keep them from the landfill. The result of this is bringing their revived beauty to my home and yours. Whenever possible I'll always choose to use environmentally-safe, water-based paints and finishes. I use General Finshes products almost exclusively because of their commitment to eco-friendly products.