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The cabinet for the Birmingham Symphony Decorator Showhouse is beginnning to take shape. This first picture is of the frame made of red oak barn timbers from northern Alabama. There are some really cool knots, nail holes, worm-wood, and rough sawn places that make this wood very interesting and rustic. The majority of the cabinet is going to be crafted from this stock. I plan to use fall peeled maple for accents.

I have been asked to build a piece for the Birmingham Symphony Decorator Showhouse. It is to be a storage piece for the forest-inspired children’s room. I plan to use rustic oak timbers and fall peeled maple. I have a concept in my head. More on this as the project moves along….

Mountain Brook manor committed to be Decorators’ ShowHouse this spring – al.com http://bit.ly/vvLjr

Bruce, at Redwood Bench and Table Co. in Mitchell, Oregon sent me the coolest picture of twisted western juniper. I had never seen wood like this. I guess it grows this way. Bruce says he removes the bark with a pressure washer. That method appeals to me as my normal method is very low-tech—a  pocket knife and some elbow grease.

Western Juniper

If you are interested in purchasing some of this writhing wood, I bet Bruce can fix you up. You can contact him at 541.462.3232. Check out their web site to see some really cool beds, lamps, and tables.

I ran across this cool use of natural stones for cabinet hardware. The company, Montana Stones, uses natural stones, available in multiple colors, to make cabinet knobs, drawer pulls, robe knobs, and bottle stoppers. It is a neat idea that makes use of a natural material in an alternative way. The slightly polished stones are pretty, but it is a bit strange to me that the stones are polished at all. I would prefer a natural unpolished, unfinished look that maximizes the nature of these beautiful stones. Also, there is a bit of a dichotomy in the drawer pull construction in that the base is very manufactured and polished. Again, I would rather have seen a more rustic base for these pieces.

But they are very nicely made and would compliment a new kitchen installation or a more modern style of furniture.

Kelly sent me pictures of the ‘Coastal Oak’ (that is what I am calling that style/design) table in her home with the chairs and rug. I love it and she is pleased. Here is what she said:

The table looks absolutely wonderful. As you will see in my pictures my dogs love to be in front of the camera. It turned out perfect and just like I had hoped. Thank you very much! The “S” household is extremely pleased.

I had not see the legs on these chairs before. They have a cool rustic character that adds to the whole look. I think the rug and the seagrass chairs are a cool contrast to the various colors/features of the salvaged oak timbers. I am not sure where the rug came from but I think the chairs are from Pier 1.

Update from Kelly: BTW…the chairs are from Pier 1 and the rug came from West Elm. I really tried to put some thought to the look and it all came together as I had hoped.

Last week I bubble wrapped each piece of the table within an inch of its life and then loaded it all in my truck and carried it to the local mailing/shipping shop. The guys at Parcels Too in Trussville were great! They figured out a way to get it to Kelly S. within budget and further wrapped and boxed it up very professionally. The folks at Roadway got to Kelly’s on Tuesday (we had a tracking number so we could watch it travel from here to there) and she was successful in getting it into her house–even if they Roadway guy didn’t think they could do it themselves. I bet she has a pile of packing material–I really hope she can find a use for it rather than just throwing it away. Reuse, recycle, renew.

She is going to send me a picture with the chairs she chose (from Pier 1) and I will post that here when I get it. I think it is going to great with the chairs.

All that remains is a bit of hardware and wrapping it up for shipping. It is beautiful! The oil has soaked in very nicely.

I put a coat of penetrating oil on the underside of the table top halves.

This is the underside and therefore not finished sanded and more rough than the top side but the color is beautiful. I can’t wait to see what the top looks like. Below is a picture of the legs with one coat of oil.

It is just gorgeous. I love the nail scars, the knots, the wormwood, and the grain. This thing is solid and should serve for years and years.