Humidity and salt air are not abstractions on the Lee Island Coast — they are load-bearing design constraints. Material selection, joinery methods, and finish systems all have to account for a climate that plain-sawn lumber and standard cabinet construction were never built for.
Stability before figure
Quarter-sawn cuts, which move less with humidity than plain-sawn lumber, are often prioritized for coastal casework even when a plain-sawn board might otherwise show more dramatic figure. Dimensional stability matters more a few hundred feet from open water.
Designed to age correctly
The result, done correctly, is millwork that ages the way it was designed to age rather than the way the climate would otherwise force it to — finishes selected for humidity exposure, hardware specified for a salt-air environment, and construction methods that assume seasonal movement rather than fight it.