Master Craftsman Ken » Uncategorized

Recylced, Unusual, Creative Cabinets and CustomProjects in Various Woods

MC Ken — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:20:02 +0000

I thought you would like to see some of the small miscellaneous projects I’ve worked on in recent months that were interesting but perhaps not big jobs that merit a whole post.

The first photo is a customized beverage/organizer for the console of a conversion van. The second photo is a trophy/award cabinet made from parts of an old entertainment center. The third photo is the family crest of our neighbor. I researched her name, enlarged the design to make a pattern, then cut it out and painted it with acrylic paints. The fourth photo is a cabinet that can be used for a variety of things..it is in the American Primitive style with a solid surface top. It is perfect for any style of sink, but I think a top mount china bowl would look really nice. The fifth photo is of a custom laundry cabinet that had to fit an odd size area alongside the washer and dryer. It will get a granite top. The sixth photo is a vanity I did for a close friend who often has small children visiting. The bottom center drawer pulls out and becomes a step stool so the little ones can reach the sink. When it’s no longer needed as a stool, it is easily converted to regular drawer. As you can see, I get asked to do a variety of different projects and am always looking for ways to build nice pieces from things that may usually be discarded. I am also getting more and more requests for repair/refinishing of damaged antique furniture and am having a great time with this new venue. Look for a future post on some of those type of projects.

Custom Wall Storage/Media Cabinet

MC Ken — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 23:52:05 +0000

Friends of ours recently retired and moved to the family lake house south of Jacksonville. The house had been in the family a long time and when our friends decided to move there, they decided a great deal of updating and improvement was needed. For the past two years they have replaced windows, painted, cleaned, done extensive landscaping, and a whole variety of other necessary repairs and upgrades. It is amazing what they have been able to accomplish working only part-time on the home as this was all done before they moved from the city and were still employed. One of the drawbacks to this charming small lake house however is the lack of adequate storage for linens, clothing, books, seasonal house hold items, and a good place for the TV. The room chosen for the storage cabinet is long and narrow with a window at one end. There was also the opening in the interior wall left by a window no longer installed that needed to be covered. They did not want anything real elaborate or to look like kitchen cabinets but it had to blend nicely with and not overpower the lovely antiques and other furniture in the room. My solution was this multi-level curved cabinet which gave them tons of storage and a very sturdy base for the TV. A solid surface top was selected for the top on the lower section which also had a “knockout” to corral all the cords. Beautiful hardware was chosen to complete the project and our friends couldn’t be happier with the outcome. It’s always fun to leave your customers happy, but even more so when those customers are dear friends.

Custom Vanity with Top Mount China Bowl

MC Ken — Fri, 07 May 2010 13:19:13 +0000

I had this extra china bowl in my shop and wanted to make something a little out of the “norm”. One of the new trends in bathroom design is to use these top mount bowls on an open leg style vanity. Many of the vanities I’ve seen offer little to no storage and since that’s always a big deal with women, I designed this vanity with that in mind. Hence the drawer that is configured around the plumbing, the top shelf and the two little “cubbies” on each side of the bowl. The vanity is solid wood (maple) with a high end furniture grade finish of catalized laquer over a brown red mahogany stain. The top is solid surface heavy chunk matrix in chocolate brown with a rubbed gloss finish. This vanity is perfect for a powder room/guest bath/office suite and it’s for sale for $500.00

Painted Cabinets with Granite Tops

MC Ken — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:52:39 +0000

During the install of these cabinets, Ken was able to get to know the homeowner. Turns out she’s the general manager for a large family owned company in Jax. It just so happens that Ken did a bunch of transomes, arches, and custom doors for the owner of this company, and then duplicated what he’d done for a replica play house on a smaller scale a number of years ago. I remember that job well because the man was duplicating a plantation home in Miss. and while he had some floor plans of the original house, Ken pretty much had to go by pictures of it to make his portion of the job. Anyway, back to the homeowner. She has this house that is about 20 years old and it was ready for an update. Chuck from ArtStones called Ken and said she had picked out some premade “flatpack” cabinets, and would he assemble them and paint them for him. Oover the course of 2 weeks, we had LOTS of cabinet parts laid out in the spray room. Once dry, they were then assembled and delivered to the site. Ken was asked to install them, which really works out well for us. That way, he knows how to handle them, and can make minor and sometimes tricky adjustments himself. (Not all walls are plumb or floors level.) When the job is done, he can then be confident that not only are the cabinets made and finished to the customers satisfaction and Ken’s own standard, but they are installed properly as well. Peggy chose tile backspashes and a dark granite for the tops. Under counter lighting was added as per Ken’s recommendation. It’s a nice looking kitchen, without changing the footprint, knocking out walls and within the confines of a modest budget.