699 Antique mirror, gilded mantle mirror, trumeau, made to order

699 Antique mirror, gilded mantle mirror, trumeau

Here is an antiqued mirror in a French oak frame that we designed and built.  It has the shape of an old French trumeau mirror, and this one is 51 inches high x 29 wide.

699 Antique mirror, gilded mantle mirror, trumeau

Here's a shot that shows the relative thicknesses of the frame and the crown.  The main part is 1 1/2 inches and the crown is 4 1/4 inches thick.

699 Antique mirror, gilded mantle mirror, trumeau

Closer view of the crown, showing wood texture, mirror splotches and gilding.  This was made from French oak and given some subtle dings / scrapes and discoloration to mimic an antique / distressed finish.

699 Antique mirror, gilded mantle mirror, trumeau

You can see that this oak has a lot of character.  In fact, this white oak is a specific variety grown in France to use in the wine barrel industry.  These boards were the "rejects".  Discarded for reasons such as wormholes, cracks, mineral stains and the like.

699 Antique mirror, gilded mantle mirror, trumeau

Showing a close view of the distressed and discolored oak, the gilded half-round trim, and the very aged and splotchy mirror.

699 Antique mirror, gilded mantle mirror, trumeau

The very dark bits in the mirror are still reflective.

To order a mirror such as this, here is a link to our online store.  You may specify dimensions, color, and all other details.

684 French harvest table, farmhouse table, solid wood dining table, large old world dining table

684 French harvest table, large old world dining table, farmhouse extension table

Here is a solid alder with rustic antique finish, "farmhouse" version of a table we designed and built as a bespoke project for a client who wanted voluptuous, curvy, romantic style legs.  This one pictured has a simple plank top and no leaves, but the style can be easily fitted with leaves.

684 French harvest table, large old world dining table, farmhouse extension table

This design is excellent for tall people, having plenty of legroom underneath this relatively short apron.  The table is 30 inches in height overall, and the floor to apron measurement is a generous 26 inches.

684 French harvest table, large old world dining table, farmhouse extension table

Leg closeup.

684 French harvest table, large old world dining table, farmhouse extension table

Here is what the top looks like with the sample at the edge.  We always send finish samples to you, so that you can choose colors in your own light.  Then, we use the sample to finish the piece.  The knot size and distribution on this top is rather typical for our alder boards.  

684 French harvest table, large old world dining table, farmhouse extension table

Close view of the top showing the separate plank look.  These are separate planks, but they are tightly joined together, and the apparent "gap" between each board is actually only about 1/8 inch deep; therefore, any spilled liquids will not seep through to the floor.  This wears a living finish in a medium dark rich neutral brown.

684 French harvest table, large old world dining table, farmhouse extension table

Another close view of the top texture, showing dings, scratches, worm holes, cracks, etcetera (all of which are fake) and showing the small pegs we place next to each joint.  This shows a good example of a typical alder knot, a bit on the large side.  There are usually one or two of these on a typical top.

684 French harvest table, large old world dining table, farmhouse extension table

Another close view showing the corner profile.

The size on this piece shown in these photos is 44 x 96 x 30h.  We are glad to make custom sizes and colors.  Please visit our online store here to check prices on this size.

We are happy to speak with you about what size and style would work for you.  Contact us here.

  To see how this piece works as an extension table with two leaves, click here.

683 Custom millwork for a house on Cannon Beach

A fun project for a house on Cannon Beach, Oregon.  Custom guardrail and handrail for this bright second floor "aerie" which sits way above the ocean and looks south toward that picturesque haystack rock.  The floor is roasted white oak.  No stain or dye was added to the floor - this is the natural color of oak when it gets roasted. 

Here's a drawing of the center medallion.  There were quite a few drawings that got presented for this project, and a lot of mental gymnastics that went into the structural parts and tie-ing our work into the house.  This was not my favorite design, but it was approved, because of the nautical look to the center motif.  

Matching handrail securely buckled to the wall using these painted end caps.  The lower rail is fastened to the studs through several bronze tubes, and the fasteners are capped by chiseled square oak pegs.  The top rail is fastened to the lower rail using the same bronze tubing, and this provides a nice smooth graspable rail with no interruptions all the way up.  At the very bottom of this stairway is a French oak interior door we built for the house as well.  

 For our rail cap, the oak was selected to have the most quartersawn figure, since it's up near eye level.  The painted parts below have several good sturdy coats of acrylic paint in a deep charcoal to match the house trim.  The light is a curiosity at the beach - this is a very very deep charcoal, almost black, but the color reads like a much lighter blue grey here.  

672 Hand-Painted Faux Tortoiseshell cabinet back

Antique oak cabinet top to which we added a hand painted faux tortoise shell decorative back.

Showing entire back, unobstructed by shelves.

The plan for this piece is to use it as a liquor cabinet, storing drinks and fancy glassware.  

Close view:  it's a multiple-layer finish which begins with thick layers of yellow and ivory paints which I coax into randomly crackling and cratering

This is followed by layers of glazes and lacquers containing all of the "burbly-wurblies"

Has a medium sheen - some gloss but not garish.  Finished up with a layer of crackle lacquer for plenty of interesting texture.  

Deep and complex and surprisingly neutral in appearance despite the strong egg yolk yellows.  A daily Rorschach test - what do you see in the pattern?  Links coming soon for purchase.  In the meantime, please use the "contact me" button on the top right of this blog for any questions about this.  Many, many potential ideas:   cabinet backs / mirror frames / decorative drawer fronts / door panels / anything that can be worked flat is fair game, and finish samples are available by mail.  Thanks for reading!  

666 Cherry cabinet for Vinyl Record collection storage

Dimensions 57.75 x 20.25 x 49.5 h.   A friend of ours who is a music lover commissioned this cabinet from us to store his vinyl record collection.  He and his sweetheart are setting up their household together and this is their first "significant purchase" as a couple and also their first commissioned piece.  

Built from cherry solids and veneer and given a rich finish that shows off the cherry chatoyance.  There's a lot of color on this piece, but it's mostly dye which will allow the nuances of the grain to show through.  It was meant to be vibrant.  This finish method could easily be applied to any other pristine natural piece such as a round table, or other furniture - and can be done in other colors or other species.  

End view showing grain.    As a clearcoat, this has a non crust, penetrating finish (Waterlox, satin) applied using my own method.

Drawer interior:  divided down the center

Stores two stacks of records, face-out, side by side, record-store fashion.  Drawers are 16.75 in deep.

Heaviest-duty undermount full extension slides were used - as each drawer is expected to hold 90 pounds of weight.  

Couple more photos showing how this drawer setup works in practicality

And it is fastened to the wall for safety so won't tip.  Thanks for reading - Here's a link for PRICING & AVAILABILITY -- and please use the contact button on the top right column here if you have any questions about this piece.  

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.