642 Farmhouse table, made to order

642  Farmhouse table, harvest table, farm table

Classically-proportioned farmhouse table newly built by us with an authentic rustic finish.  We love the extra wide gently shaped aprons on this one.  Dimensions are 40 x 96.  As such this would seat 8 very comfortably and squeeze 10.

642  Farmhouse table, harvest table, farm table

Here's a closer view of the apron.

642  Farmhouse table, harvest table, farm table

Photo showing the entire top.  This top has breadboard ends.  The breadboard is the one at each end, running perpendicular to the main top.  It is a nice way to finish off the ends of a table, and I'll show you how we construct them, below.

642  Farmhouse table, harvest table, farm table

Prior photos may have suggested that the top was a different color from the base, but this photo is more accurate.  On this one we aimed to get the top the same color, but with a little more of the finish rubbed off than on the legs and apron, with a little more finish built up at the apron corners, as shown.

642  Farmhouse table, harvest table, farm table

Very close view of the finish details.

642  Farmhouse table, harvest table, farm table

This one has pegged joints and a breadboard end -- shown with the finish sample.  Each of our pieces gets finished to a sample that you select.  We do mail the samples to our clients so that you can look and choose in your own lighting.

642  Farmhouse table, harvest table, farm table

Meant to have a very heavily distressed look.  As many times as I have tried to create shortcuts, it is just not practical to do so and get this sheen, this kind of "patina", and simultaneously the durability that I expect.  It is a very labor intensive process of about 35 very time consuming steps.

642  Farmhouse table, harvest table, farm table

Close study of real antique finishes reveals that the most soulful finishes are those with plenty of subtle color variation.

642  Farmhouse table, harvest table, farm table

642  Farmhouse table, harvest table, farm table

Finish sample shown clamped to the apron.  

For pricing information on this particular table, click this link

Another piece of like ilk, but slightly different color.  I like the narrower breadboard shown here.

A series of pictures follows which shows breadboard construction method in our shop.  

This is really a series of mortise and tenon joints.  Any time a board is joined perpendicular to any other boards, there must be provision made for seasonal expansion.  There are many ways to do this, but we always take care to do so, and this ensures that your piece will not warp, crack or split.  All cracks and splits should be fake!!

We price these tables by the inch.  Here is a link to order one in a 40 x 96 x 30h size such as the one pictured at top.

or,

Contact us by phone or email to discuss what size or finish would work for you.

635 French provincial wine tasting table, vintner's table made to order

635 Wine tasting table oval top made to order

Here's a classic wine tasting table in the manner of the tilt top vintner's tables of the 18th and 19th century.  This was designed as a bespoke project for a local couple.  They have a dining room attached to their kitchen which receives a lot of daylight from windows on three sides, and overlooks a gorgeous pool, a manicured garden and a very large blueberry patch.  They spend a lot of time as a couple, sitting on an upholstered bench side by side at this table.  The oval shaped top is perfect, because the dining area has several doors and is a pass-through to other rooms.  This piece can seat 6 very comfortably.

635 Wine tasting table oval top made to order

Built of sustainable northwest alder and hardened chemically as part of the finish; wears a "living finish" and will be easy-care.

635 Wine tasting table oval top made to order

635 Wine tasting table oval top made to order

635 Wine tasting table oval top made to order

More closeup pics of top.

635 Wine tasting table oval top made to order

Having a traditional looking lyre-shaped base, influenced by historical tables but designed and built by us.  We took care to make sure this lyre shape was not a knee-knocker.

635 Wine tasting table oval top made to order

Showing center stretcher between the feet; mortise and tenon pegged construction.  The stretcher going lengthwise in the center of the table  is the perfect height for propping feet up after a long day.

635 Wine tasting table oval top made to order

An additional close view of stretcher end and peg. 

635 Wine tasting table oval top made to order

The finish is a nice medium honey brown (G-1) with peachy undertones.

Please visit our online store to check prices

Projects done for LePigeon restaurant prove durability

Shown is a set of two communal tabletops we built for LePigeon restaurant.

We rebuilt and refinished this solid walnut top as well.  The idea was to test the farmhouse finishes we had developed in a rather severe setting, where they would get heavily used.

Love this illustration by Chad Crowe.  This pretty much sums up the experience.  It's a pretty lively place and no one has time to fuss with furniture.

The tops were hand planed and the ridges left by the planing tended to wear; however stains and glass rings remain absent.  The tables retain this naturally worn appearance years later with little to no supplemental care.

We also built and finished this large antiqued mirror with antiqued copper leaf frame.  A chemically antiqued mirror was chosen so as to reflect light but not be too harsh.

Andy and Gabe were GREAT to work with.

They wanted another one for Little Bird Bistro.   Upstairs, it got a BIG table top.  The guys decided that during banquets it could serve as a banquet table and at other times it could...

Could... what??

Hang on the wall!  

605 Mirrored Treillage, antique finish

A mirrored treillage 75 x 80 inches brightens up a darker porch in Portland.

There are several layers of paint:  deep brown followed by rust then gunmetal, and given a distressed, chalky, aged finish.

These sections come apart and this middle section here lifts off the glass so that the glass can be easily cleaned.

Showing chippy chalky charcoal paint at base.

Here is one of the key pictures inspiring the project.

A few of the sketches.  The challenge was getting the mirror to be at face height.

Me, working on this in the shop.

Built of solid cedar.

607 Captured Live-Edge

607 - Unique in the industry, a "captured live-edge" dresser features solid panels joined on the vertical

Designed by me and built by Buck for a friend / colleague.  51 L x 24 w x 65 1/2 h.   A departure from our usual but we are  totally comfortable with this style and medium.  This piece in our opinion begs to sit alongside an entire body of work.

The woods used are Oregon Walnut on the dark side, and Oregon Myrtle on the light side.  Eastern Walnut top and base.

Right side.

Here it shows some of  the crazy boards we used for this project.  These were all considered "seconds" and not much better than throwaway wood.  Thicknesses varied widely within each board from one end to another, and there were some unusable places that had to be cut away.  The dresser was built as a demonstration of the fact that curvy boards can be used and joined together just as they are, in order to save massive amounts of wood from being wasted.  Normally, curved boards are considered waste and are burned or chipped.  Unfortunately, the sawmill in this case decided to at least attempt to get these boards somewhat linear, and therefore cut off parts that we might have considered prime.

Playing with the beginnings of a rough layout.

The finished piece stayed true to the original idea, as well it should.  (Unless Suzie changes her mind)

A stack of the final boards, rough-cut.

It was my bright idea to have the "wild" corner look as if there was a tree growing up the side.  Toward this end, a single board wraps the corner.  Having solid boards arranged perpendicular to the long edges of the drawer is quite technically challenging. 

Isn't this figure wild?  All the colors are natural and unaltered, except for oiling the wood with multiple coats of penetrating finish.  It shows how much variegation we can expect in our lovely native Oregon Walnut.

This shows the joint between the walnut side and the lighter Oregon Myrtle side.

The wildest place on the Oregon Walnut side.  Does it look like a kiss?

In comparison with the Oregon walnut on the front and side, the Eastern walnut (top and base) is relatively tame.  We used this lovely Eastern walnut deliberately on the feet and top, to "frame" the wild picture in between and to visually ground and stabilize the piece.

A drawer front showing a cross section of the joint; a tight tongue and groove.  Joints on the thicker top are double tongue and groove but unfortunately don't show very much because of the darkness of the wood.

Drawer construction:  We decided that slips of raw steel made the perfect pulls.  These are finished so they don't rub off black onto clothes, but as much of the patina was left as possible.

View showing pulls, front, and top. 

From a bird's perspective, the top appears lighter than the front, but from normal human viewing angles the top and the feet are equally dark and the front is a bit lighter.  This picture shows the curvilinear joints of the top.  Each of these is a double tongue and groove joint.  Some are rather radically curved such as the joint that goes careening around one of the knots toward the back.