Over the past couple of months we have had the pleasure of working on a large project for a longtime customer. Starting a project in their home they happened to be in our shop and see a large cherry custom media cabinet we had built. They were amazed at the quality of the piece and soon came back to us with the project of customizing their new home office space.
The space was completely naked before we fitted it out. The owner and project manager came to us with some rough sketches and functional necessities and we filled in some details and provided color samples. The project morphed from there with a few bookshelves being fabricated and a large arched window seat.
As the project was coming together so did the details. Geraldine McCarthy designed the piece and she was amazing to work with! She has a very keen eye for perfection and will not accept anything less. It is always great to work with people that are as passionate as us. She spent a lot of time with us reviewing the project as it was being produced, fine tuning the arches to get them just right, color samples, finish type, everything.
The daybed was made with truly masterful veneering techniques and a lot of handwork. The carcass of the day bed was made of solid poplar to create the form for the arches. We used bendable plywood, walnut veneers, and solid walnut on top of the carcass.
For the shelves, the owner really like the idea of using baskets and having a lot of color in the room to reflect her creativity while she worked. We ended up doing a faux finish using a light blue base with a white glaze for accenting profiles and corners. We also had a bit of crackle effect in areas and rubbed through the paint for some wear and tear effect.
Because the color was very bright we broke it up with clear finished on the counter tops and moldings to give it that bit of warmth that wood provides. Maple was chosen to tie in with the rest of the house but we stained the clear wood finishes a few shades off so that it didn’t get lost and stood out. This creates an easy aesthetic transition from utility items like flooring and doors to a work station and paneling. You don’t want to feel as if you are writing on the floor when you are seated at your desk even if it’s the same wood.
We did everything at the shop and installed later. We produce our own simple shop drawings, sourced all of the wood and plywood to control quality, and we even mixed our own paints and glazes so that the color was something unique.
The overall space turned out very well and cohesively works throughout the house. We continue to do various jobs for this client and proud of all the projects we’ve done so far.