420 Dining room table with salvaged natural fir top, painted distressed base

Here is the inspiration picture for this piece:  Source: stinemos.blogspot.com via Suzanne on Pinterest

These are reclaimed fir boards from old Oregon barns.  We do not use reclaimed wood very often.

Some reasons not to use reclaimed wood are:  high moisture content:  two problems with this:  first, the wood will shrink in width and may warp over time.  second, moisture inhibits finish penetration.  More problems with salvaged wood:  birdshot and nails which ruin knives // rot and fragility // SPLINTERS // 

Salvaged wood, if it is ever to be used, must be done strategically - we would never use it for anything except a top such as this one.  The boards did not come straight off the barn looking like this and required hours upon hours of manipulation to impart a soft blonde color; (their natural inclination under oils is toward a screeching dark orange) harden the soft spots (90 percent of the entire board); add "convincing" "worm" holes with an awl (these are NOT natural; this is Oregon, the natural ones were HUUUGE); re-create the eroded, up and down grain on the cut ends and any areas that had to be shaped; and  de-splinterize the entire length so that it could be wiped with a rag.  

This close view of the foot shows a lot of wear here, as it should be.  The base coat was avocado, and the intermediate coat a soft dove grey.  

Showing a little bit of crackle here and there...

The finished piece went to live in Wisconsin.

531 Gustavian Sideboard

Here is a rustic dining room sideboard with an antique Swedish look.  It went to live in Forest Hills, New York.

Here is a close view of the brass chicken wire door panels.  These have been aged so that the brass looks old. 

Here's a close view of the top.  It is a multi layered casein paint that has been given a heavily distressed look.  I really love it when a client is willing to pull the "ultra-heavy" trigger on the distressing level and go bold with color. 

Front view...

517 Old World Dining

The piece here sits in our client's gorgeous dining room designed by Jennifer Flanders of New York

Showing in background is our sideboard in a Gustavian finish of dark ivory and robin's egg blue.  The room will get one more piece of furniture designed and built by us (not shown at current time).  

This is a very rustic dining table with pullout breadboard ends, and two leaves.

Showing Breadboard end.

Measuring 54x98 it will seat 8 comfortably with no leaves in place, and will expand to 134" long (11 ft) to seat 14 with both leaves in place. 

Close view of end.  Since the table is so large, it was built to disassemble easily.  Hidden behind this rectangle is a lag screw which attaches the trestle ends to the stretcher at the floor.  

It has a hand planed surface and wears our popular  "living finish" because it is easy to live with, looks natural and alive, and will age beautifully without needing any protection from place mats or coasters. 

 It is a distressed, durable and easily repairable penetrating oil finish which gives the table a very authentic looking antique look and feel.  Shown here are square pegs at joints of top, and "worm damage".  

Another close view of top showing "cracks" and square pegs and distressing marks.  

Underneath one of the breadboard ends is this beautiful inscription in letters about 2 or 3 inches high.   The parents plan to hand this table down to future generations. 

513 / 185 Built in bookshelves and bench are made match house's natural fir trim

These beautiful natural fir cabinets were original to the house.  The house belongs to a busy family with small kids who like to set the table.  Not only were some of these glass panels cracked but the leading was, of course, toxic when rubbed.  We rebuilt the panels using old window glass and artificially aged zinc came to mimic the old work.

On the other side of this large room, it is evident that while the bookshelves are fully and neatly stacked, there isn't quite enough storage for the family.  (Before photo)

This "after" photo shows the built in cabinetry and bookshelves made to match and blend with the existing house woodwork.  Buck and I designed the unit and built all the components.  Our friend and colleague Jeff Axtell installed our work.
You can see that the neighboring house got a new coat of paint during the time it took to do this project!  

Here are two sturdy drawers (one for each child -- smart!)  A cushion is planned for the seat.  

Drawers were self guided, similar to others in the house, and well waxed so they work smoothly.  

The corner of the bench is fitted with a block similar to the detail on the glass fronted casework.

In order to save space in this rather modestly sized bungalow, the deepest / largest books were given a shelf above the bench.  It is deep enough for the large volumes and still easy to reach these while standing on the bench top. 

This shows some details of how the bench section meets the shelf sections, and the understated crown at the ceiling level.  All the pieces were built in the shop and pre-finished.  Installation therefore consisted of very little on-site disruption and took one guy and a helper 1 1/2 days.  

Detail of how the bench sides meet the bookshelves.  Many hours of design time and thought went into what exact configuration and dimensions were best for this entire structure.  Bench sides were designed so that these long broad planks would serve as back rests.  All work is done to look like solid wood; however plywoods were used where appropriate.  Solid wood expands and contracts seasonally, and if a piece is built wrong, or if solids are used where plywoods should be, these solids will warp, crack and split.    

Another view of the drawers. 

Another view of the bench backrest.  (Pillows made by yours truly)

Showing nice tight joint between the case and wall.  Special thanks to our friend and colleague Jeff Axtell, who did a brilliant job at installation while recovering from a fractured collar bone.

This is my favorite feature:  Old school zig zag adjustable shelf supports.  I love these but my husband considers them a waste of time.  Therefore it is usually my job to make them.  Fortunately he has made us a very clever jig that makes the cutting nearly automatic, and it also makes it fit precisely, such that any support will universally fit into any slot.  

494 Giant Floor Mirror

Here is an extra large floor mirror designed by Cecilia Kruse-Wright of Portland, and displayed in Cecilia's room at Bedford Brown.  

Showing basic shape -- This particular mirror measured 84 x 90 inches overall, and can be ordered in any size or configuration.  

Close detail of finish, which was meant to look very old and with a Swedish feel.  The  piece has therefore a modern look  but with an aged finish giving it an antique with modern feeling which will work in any interior scheme. 

Close view of gilding and creamy grey paint, showing subtle crackling.  See antique effects on the mirror as well.  

500 French Provincial Dining

A bespoke design for a local Portland family - we designed and built this cabriole dining table to go with this set of chairs.  A lot of our clients are taller than average, as were the people in this family.  They wanted plenty of leg room, and so the overall height of this piece is 1/2 inch higher than standard, and the apron height was chosen carefully to look proportionate but provide plenty of height.   

This was the inspiration piece; however, this table was built with the intention to exactly duplicate the design shown on a pre-existing photo.  In the end, I was unsatisfied with the awkward way in which the legs joined the apron. 

This design is, to my eye, a vast improvement over the table shown above; the apron on this one slants slightly outward at the bottom and therefore transitions into the leg seamlessly.  

This is reclaimed douglas fir from an old Oregon barn; it was stained dark and given a good dose of wood hardener and lots of penetrating drying oils as a "living" finish. 

This detail on the apron was meant to imitate or blend with the details on the chairs.  Scalloped beads are meant to evoke the classic French Provincial furniture treatment  

View of side apron, showing hand carving and the gently slanted apron.  

I was very pleased with these legs, and used this opportunity at re-designing to also re-work the leg curves.  

Showing corner where leg and apron meet.  Square pegs at the joints provide extra texture. 

Showing distressing and carving texture.  

Side apron and leg detail. 

End apron detail.