Furniture craftsman Sam Maloof chose wood as his medium, so it’s no wonder that in both of these photographs he’s surrounded by his favorite material. The shot at right portrays him sitting on logs in the courtyard of his house in Southern California, before it was moved in 2001 and became the heart of the Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation for Arts and Crafts. (The foundation is a member of the National Trust program Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios. For more on this place, see our feature story from the Fall 2026 issue.)

In the photo at left, Maloof is again seated, this time inside his concrete-floored workshop. Surrounded by his tools and wearing his signature glasses, he appears utterly at home. Behind him is an in-progress chair, and light streams in through a large window. When the house was relocated, the workshop went with it. The space is still in use today by a separate business, Sam Maloof Woodworker.