Category: Latest Work

We rounded out the week with the installation of a raised hearth fireplace.

This project first involved the tear out of the existing fireplace, an uninspired tile surround that our clients were not happy with. We then built and installed the hearth platform. The granite company were then able to install the granite hearth and fireplace surround and we followed up with the installation of the columns, valence and mantle.

The project was built from maple and finished with “creamy white” pigmented lacquer color matched to existing nearby cabinetry. All the parts, including the moldings, were made in-house.

Our clients were thrilled with the new addition to the room!

It was molding mania in the workshop yesterday with the new Williams & Hussey molding machine working hard. We were running the moldings for a raised hearth fireplace we are building. This is a new profile and will be part of the mantle. Isn’t it beautiful?

This is a media center incorporating an electric fireplace. We installed this yesterday and I’m really pleased with how it turned out!

It’s made from rift sawn white oak, stained Expresso and finished with a clear coat of @targetcoatings water based lacquer.

The floating shelves on either side of the TV area have dimmable recessed lights LED lights.

I seem to say this often, but I’m so fortunate with the clients I have. This is the second project we’ve done for them and we’re talking about one more.

I recently made the decision to step up my molding game with the purchase of a Williams & Hussey molding machine. I wanted the ability to produce small runs of moldings on demand as well as the ability to make the moldings out of the exact same wood that I was using for the rest of a project. Also, being close to historic St. Augustine, I was getting the occasional request to make moldings that are no longer commercially available and I wanted the ability to get custom knives made to match historic moldings and fulfill those request.

This is a sneak peak of the first project that I’ve built where I made all the moldings on the project. Door moldings, astragal, crown and baseboard were all made here in the workshop on the W&H molding machine. It has really exceeded my expectations and I’m very pleased with the performance of the machine.

It was great to be able to mill some lumber, run it through the molder and incorporate it into the project, all on the same day. No waiting days or weeks for delivery and paying large shipping costs on long lengths of molding.
What has also been impressive has been the customer service I’ve received from Williams & Hussey. Questions about setting up the machine, purchasing knives and getting custom knives made were all answered promptly by both phone and email.

As the owner of a small workshop I am constantly having to make decisions about tool and machinery purchases, none of which are cheap purchases. It feels great to know that this was a good decision and that this investment in the workshop will pay me back for many years to come!

If you need or know of anyone who needs, moldings made to a profile that is no longer available commercially, let me know. From a small sample of the molding, I can get some knives custom made and run the moldings for you.

This is a rendering of our current project. A built-in media center with an electric fireplace.

Renderings are a very important part of the process. They allow me to show my client exactly what I will build them, in their home setting. They also allow for changes during the design process. It’s far easier, and cheaper, to make the changes at this point instead of after we start cutting.

It takes a lot of work to prepare them, but they are worth it. I constantly hear from clients how important the renderings were to settle on a design or how much the final product looks like the rendering.

We actually installed this media center the week before last. We got back to the workshop and immediately started on the next project and I am only now finding time to post this.

This media center is for the same clients as the previous large built in. Actually, it is in the same room. A beautiful living room with an amazing view of the St. Johns River.

Much of the details are the same as the previous built in. Rift sawn white oak veneer, sprayed with “Amazing Gray” and a glaze applied. Push hinges on the doors to minimize the hardware. A simple push on the door and the swing open. Veneer grain orientated to match and flow throughout the project.

Textured panels in the back of the open areas, the pattern reflecting rippling water, which is fitting given the view from the room.

Two of the drawer cabinets actually only have one large drawer, the second drawer front allows the pattern not to be disrupted. The large drawers will house an LP collection. You do remember those, don’t you?

To give you a sense of the scale of this project, the taller cabinet in the center houses a 75″ TV which is on a lift. I’ll post a video of the lift in action separately and you can see the TV open the lid of the cabinet as it goes up and the lid settling back into place as the TV goes down. It’s pretty cool to watch, probably better than much of what is on the TV 🙂

Once again, I’m so fortunate to have the clients that I do. Lots of discussion on both of these projects and it was such an enjoyable journey going from the initial idea of the design to the completed project.

Andrei Zborovski, owner of Avrora Inc. is a furniture maker and his workshop is just down the street from mine. We have different talents and resources and so occasionally we will work together on a job.