5/1 12 ... ok, the curly maple island is ready to go ... were going to move it in one piece to the site tomorrow, weather permitting. it was an interesting project, more complicated than it looks, and were looking forward to seeing it later this week with its granite top and sink installed in its new home. we finished it at the clients request with a wash coat of shellac and two wipe on coats of waterlox. very smooth feeling and easy to apply. fast drying too ... good job trevor ...
end view with the open shelves for large pots
other end
stool side ... still cant figure out this new blogger interface ... i may have to actually watch the video ..
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........................................................ 4/12/2012 above ...........
island update 4/11 ..... ok, were coming along now ... after working out the construction details with the full size corner mockup in the two photos at the bottom of this post, we started actual construction by building the kick space directly on top of our full size cardboard layout drawing. on this drawing seen below, (a bad image, poorly photoshopped to compensate for low contrast and glare) we laid out our cabinet and corner post lines, the sink, and inverted between the orange lines, our vertical section which shows panel and face frame details .. click the photos to enlarge them ....
from that drawing and the original mockup, we turned our round column bases that the octagon columns sit on. we then drilled the rounds for timberlock lag screws which we used to attach the round bases to the tablesawn octagons. the orange arrows on those indicate the sawn faces which came out ever so slightly smaller than the planed faces ... it seems impossible to get them all perfectly the same size but we wanted the face that our face frames attached to to be all the same size. follow that? good for you. we notched the octagons for the face frames and routed L shaped recesses in the round bases for the little bead moldings that allowed us to transition the beveled tops of the turnings to the panels. got
that? really good ... i think you can see that detail in the mockup too.
i forgot to mention we also had to cut a freehand corner out of each round where it intersected the toe space on the bandsaw before attaching the whole deal to the kick with more timberlocks ... got
that?... im trying not to bore you with
all the details; but there were certainly a lot of things to think about on this project before we could even begin ...
now were on to the more straightforward part of the construction where we build the boxes and add the face frames and panels ...
one more shot of the base with its curly maple kick faces and all the columns in place.
and we had a moment where we stopped to appreciate mother natures veneer work with the naked lady doing a handstand ... fun!
part of the project was that the owner would supply the wood, but after struggling mightily to make silk purses from not so great material, the owner graciously allowed us to get a bunch of matched curly maple lumber from our friends at irion, and you just cant believe how much happier we all are ... piece after consistent piece .... beautiful panel after beautiful panel, matched drawer face with matched drawer face ... its a true pleasure to work with their stuff ....
tomorrow we will finish the frame joinery and assemble it all for a test fit before gluing all the panels up .... more as we move it along ... were liking it ...
3/27/12
we have a new kitchen island project getting underchoice in the shop ... all natural curly maple with a stone top. open shelves,drawers, a recess for seating, pretty straightforward except for the octagonal columns on the corners .... finished my full size mockup today and once that is approved, well have at it ... click the photos to enlarge them ...
here are the cad drawings that we made from the owners graph paper layouts ... the plan view shows some of the complications where the octagonal columns meat the panels and cabinetry and open shelves but conceptually at least, i think we have it worked out .... were currently working from a full size 4 x 8 cardboard plan view which is a great tool for making cut lists and box sizes. we find the full size things can minimize errors and they dont take too long to create ...
since i sent these photos to the client, i thought i might add these examples of other islands we have built in case you are thinking about designing one yourself. the island above is in my home ... cherry counters with tile around the stove; the seating on the end is where we live, lunch and dinner, good for up to 5 people seated ...
and we built this one in 2007 i think ... it even made it into house beautiful ... actually, it was one of my very first blog posts in october of 2007
another view of it ... the rest of the kitchen and the reclaimed chestnut stools are ours too ...
and heres a nice walnut island for the same client who got the walnut paneled room in 2009...
another wash painted island, very similar in detailing to my own kitchen ... we did some tin punching on that project ...
and then theres the big island ... almost a continent by some reports ... quartered white oak
and here we arrive at the mockups for our new project ... the octagons seemed simple until i actually had to add the kick spaces and the turned round pedestals ...
the base will be the first piece and it will have a 3/4" top that the cabinetry will be attached to from above ... like a really big puzzle ... more photos as we progress ....
on site but the house isnt quite finished
this weekend marks the 20th anniversary of vermont open studio weekend. we took a couple years off when we moved from arlington to dorset, but i think this is the 16th or 17th year for us. its a great event. there are over 250 artists across vermont who will be opening their studios to the public saturday and sunday, 10-5 both days. look for the yellow signs. there will be a lot to see at our shop: kit will be there with her handmade jewelry, penny viscusi will have her locally inspired pastels, sams metalwork, wills banjos and for one reason or another, a large collection of our furniture, both completed and in process. there are two pieces left from our winter show, the mirror and the bureau, an unusual 11 copper top table, waiting to be delivered to connecticut next week, and the square mahogany coffee table in the previous blog post.
this figured cherry bureau measures about 36 wide x 39 high by about 23" deep. all items will have special open studio special reduced prices.
and the mirror has a stand from the show or can be hung directly on a flat wall.
well also have a claro walnut slab table with the rebar base with six chairs. we are planning to have that all finished friday so that it can be delivered to the guilford, vermont welcome center where it will be on display for the summer months.
and a copper top porch table which is a new concept for us .. above is an early view, before the copper was nailed on and the base completed ... this post will be updated with new photos as we approach the opening bell saturday morning ... come on by if youre in the area .. this saturday and sunday 10-5 both days.
I ran into some long time clients yesterday at the local hardware/general store. We were talking and they mentioned they were considering building a library next year and could I send them some pictures ... I rounded up a few and realized that rather then send them in an email, I would post them here with some comments and explanations. Most of the these projects were before I started writing this blog so there is not much in the choice of construction photos .... They are not all libraries, but exhibit some of the various book storage design possibilities ... Click the photos to enlarge them ... More pics later ....
This stained cherry library had some beautiful details...The soft lighting for the miniature decoys over the windows, a fly tying desk., a secret gun cabinet with lighted storage and opposite the wall shown above, a complete home office ... I have that picture somewhere ...
A classic natural cherry home office and bookcase circa 2004 I think. The clients and I got a couple design awards for this one, a portfolio award from Custom Woodworking Business magazine and one from the VWMA.
The opposite wall with a custom, built in fly tying desk ...
A mini library. This room was about 8 x 10 but we squeezed in two walls of floor to ceiling bookcases, a desk and a beautiful door with stained glass ... 
This wall is adjacent to the one above with the door in between them.
Not a library per se, but a really fine cabinet full of stuff. Down lighting on each shelf, uplighting on the top of the case ... An incredible collection of objects and only a very small portion of the clients extraordinary all original decoy collection.
My largest project ever and my favorite drawings ever ... This was choice before CAD for me and I recently stuck these to the ceiling of the closet in my office ... If you enlarge this one, you can see the whole room. The photos below really dont do the room justice. For this project I had to take on a partner, Andrew Pate of Andrew Pate Designs in Cambridge New York for this one ... He had a much larger shop than I did at the time and more experience in long distance built ins than I ever want to have ... Yikes! What anxiety. Will this thing fit? Its four walls, floor to ceiling in a Upper East Side Pre War ... I mean, really ...
A. from drawings above ... Well it all fit ... It was a huge installation and four of us had to spend more than a couple nights in the city ...
B. from drawing above ... Lots of details ... The wood was cut from the clients Vermont land; dried in New York State; fabricated and assembled in Arlington and Cambridge; finished before delivery; and delivered to NYC and installed there ... It was also the year we moved from Arlington to Dorset .... Did I really do this? I guess.
C. Lots of details ... The stereo all pulls out; the vertical drawers on either side of the tv pull out and hold boxes of flies ... Not shown, wall d. above, and the fly tying desk and custom rod and reel storage. The arrow in the sketches above points to a view of the room ceiling if youre lying on the floor. There was a challenge there to make that all make sense too ... Wonderful clients, wonderful project ...
And, you can alchoices paint them ... This project we finished this summer and it actually has a blog link ... The Wall
The installation day
In the shop ... See the blog link for more info on this one
And here we have a totally minimalist approach ... live edge curly maple and fir supports ... All for now ...
