The trend today with new homes seems to be that the builder does not want to deal with the woodworking details around the fireplace. Instead he has his framer build in all the niches he has room for and cover them all with drywall. Fortunately this time, the builder took the same details from the kitchen and installed two side cabinets with matching granite. The surround ended up with the same granite only because he needed some fire resistant margin for code. When the owners moved in, they decided the space above the fire pit was a perfect place for a flat screen entertainment system.

Design problems and challenges…

One…The screen hangs on the wall all right, but projects out on its bracket a good 8″ and looks bad from the side. Also, the heat from the fire box below will also void the systems warranty. Everything involved has heat sensitivity issues . 

Two…The owner liked the traditional look of her cabinets and wanted a traditional mantle surround to match. The biggest problem here was that there wasn’t any side space for details of a normal surround and to keep the minimum heat setback clearances from the fire box. The openings left and right were not symmetrical. It was off only an inch but an inch can be hard to camouflage.

Three…By the way…don’t spend too much money because we spent a fortune on the entertainment.

Let’s get designing some solutions.

Side Project…

This storage chest is not mine.

The chest is very old and has a lot of history that should not be lost.

It needed a lot of repair in the woodworking department, in short, it was falling apart.

The craftsman that built it put a lot of character into his work. The carving alone represents care that most of us would not even consider doing.

Hand cut dovetail corners and rope handles are very nice details I think we all can appreciate.

My job was to reassemble some joinery and refinish the chest, enhancing the coloring and glazing the carving to make it stand out even more.

The lid has a safety spring loaded arm to keep the top from pinching fingers.

Not knowing how it looked when it was new, I hope the craftsman that created this work of art would appreciate the new life I gave his work.

All in the details…

Working over the existing tile has been a challenge.  All the details that have been designed in wood have to be finished off site in my shop.  That means every part has to fit or to be adjustable on site by sanding to fit only.  No caulking here!

After installing the basics, the two entrance doors into this space that were flat panel painted just didn’t look good up against the new woodwork.   I am now working on two, four raised panel, cathedral head maple doors to match all the other woodwork to replace the painted existing doors.  One of them has a special venting detail in the kick rail.

More to come…

The most eye catching details found in a small space is going to be at eye level. What better place to create the most impressive woodworking detail is above the toilet and vanity. A closed cabinet and a tri-mirror, complete with reed pilasters and rosettes are in order. Maybe even add some figured maple plaques and a raised carving center piece. To complete the tile cover up, how about a raised panel bulkhead.

CLASSIC; Natural clear finish, raised panel maple cabinetry.

Maple is a hardwood with fine even finish. It’s natural color range from creamy white to light brown tones to dark reddish browns. Maple may contain some wavy, curly, bird’s eye or burl grain that will darken. These characteristics are natural part of the wood and are not considered defects, but is what makes this classic wood so appealing.

Traditions; Light honey oak, raised panel cabinetry.

Oak is very open grained hardwood with prominent grain patterns ranging from straight to wide arcs. Natural oak color range from light tans to deep reddish browns. When finished with light colored stain, noticeable differences in color will be evident between the open and closed grain areas of the wood. This trait gives oak a presentation that makes this wood very traditional.

Tuscan; Spice stain color with coffee glaze on a framed raised panel maple cabinetry.

Maple is a hardwood with a fine even finish. Spice stain gives this wood a clean refined effect and when combined with a frame 5 piece raised panel and a coffee glaze to high light the extra detail, this style is definitely Italian.

Specifications of my ALL WOOD, IN-STOCK, cabinets.

Face frames and drawers are made from 3/4″ solid lumber. The drawers use an epoxy coated under mount, self closing slide. The doors are five piece raised panel wood design and use a euro style concealed hinge. The shelves are 5/8″ plywood and are fully adjustable. The box is 1/2″ plywood and has finished interiors and sides. The cabinets have a hand rubbed semi-gloss polyurethane finish.

The new vanity fit nicely into the corner but the challenge is when the plumbing has to be let into the frame of the vanity box in a limited space. The drain runs to the right side crossing over one of the drawers. This is one of those times that it was more important to move the drain pipe than it was to chop the drawer box to clear. Custom design can’t cover all the unexpected conditions, especially when the measuring of the new was done before the tear out. The supply lines were in the center back and cleared the drawer below the shut offs. A nice feature of space design is to not give the plumbing any more room than it needs. The doors are snap release and are always removed until the plumbing is completed.

I made the top out of solid surface, mfgr by “Hannex”. The piece comes to me 30″ x 120″ x 1/2″ thick and must be fabricated into the configuration of the order. The bowl is glued on and becomes seamless. The back splashes were made of the same material along with the shaving shelf that ran all across the vanity and toilet.

The bulkhead panels and the crowns were also installed. Overall, this was a good day!

Part Three…The tear Out.

The tear out can be a very simple process and of course it can be your worst nightmare. I had decided early on that I would build the new vanity and it’s counter top before tear out. The idea is to leave the space in a working condition until some of the woodwork was ready to go back. In custom fabrication, it’s what you don’t see that can get you in trouble.

The Luck was with me. The only surprise was a little water damage behind the unit that since had dried. The moisture had produced some mold. There was also some evidence of termite damage but not active.

I cut the wallboard out from behind the old vanity, removed some foam insulation and a couple of furring strips. The block wall behind was clean and in good shape.

The pipes and valves were new but the evidence of the old abandoned pipes were still there. Generally if they are not in the way, I just make sure they are sealed and intact and just cover them back.

The old recessed lites and the mirrored medicine cabinet came out without a hitch.

Now it’s time to clean up and start installing the new wood work.

Part Two…Plan and Sketch some Proposals.

Money is always a concern. My challenge is to make suggestions that make the space better but always keep the budget in mind. In this case, we didn’t have a budget but rather needed to solve the problems first and then put a price tag on the project later. Risky because if at the end of the planning stage, I solve all the issues but let the expense get more than the owner wants to spend, a lot of time gets wasted and I don’t get paid for time invested.

Two sketches later and lot of discussion, here is the list of proposed changes.

1-Make the vanity taller and deeper. ( more to kitchen counter standards ).

2-Improve drawer size and number. 4 drawers in the old to 7 in the same space. Also use soft close and full extension slides.

3-All maple, raised panel construction (euro style), w/ a soft brown stain and burnt umber glazed finish.

4-Razor shelf over the vanity and continue over the toilet.

5-Solid surface vanity counter w/ seamless sink and matching back splash.

6-Cabinets over the toilet and wood framed medicine cabinet over the vanity. A good place to add carvings, rope moldings, and in short, much needed traditional details.

7-Crown details all around the room.

8-Cover the existing bulkhead w/ raised panel matching woodwork.

Part One… Introduction to the project.

Bathrooms normally are tight spaces that have to perform a lot of functions. Good maintenance and most bath spaces work good for years. However, some baths, like this one, are already in good working order. The room looks good and really don’t need anything except a little makeover. The process starts with visiting with the owners and creating a list of what they would like changed in the space. Usually this consists of color and material changes.

This bath has a lot of nice tile work. The floors, three walls, the fully enclosed shower, and a bulkhead are completely covered with tile. We all agreed that it was OK not to tear it all out, if I could figure out a way to tone it down. The existing vanity was the old standard of 30″ high and needed to be raised to a more comfortable 36″ high. Storage in the large mirrored medicine cabinet needed upgrading along with improving the drawer configuration of the vanity. More traditional wood work was also on the list of must haves.

The next step is for me to take the owners concerns and draw some proposed concept sketches.