THIN EDGED NIGHTSTAND

Mid Century furniture design is popular again, so I decided to rescue an old night stand and refurbish it. The following photos show the recent project I have completed. This is a night stand designed by George Nelson for Herman Miller circa 1950.

The cabinet has seen a lot of changes in its life time. It was repainted several times, and didn't have a drawer.

I decided to refurbish the piece, and bring it back to its original look. It is made with quarter sawn ash plywood, in a natural finish.  It was quite a project, but rewarding to restore this piece to the original design. This night stand is now for sale.

A CUSTOM GUN CABINET

Designing and building custom pieces can be interesting and rewarding. and our customers get exactly what they want. This recent project was for a gun collector, who wanted a decorative Victorian Era cabinet.

The materials are Cherry solids, and Maple burl and Satin wood panels, finished in a two tone finish.

The base section is made with two doors, that open to a gun safe and storage area. The section just above the doors features a slant glass framed window to display a beautiful custom knife collection.

The upper section is designed to hold twelve guns and are locked in place with a custom designed locking system.
Both display areas are lit with LED lighting for maximum visibility.
The cabinet was hand built by Bob Berghorst, a very talented craftsman and friend.

If you are interested in creating a custom piece, please contact me.

ARTS AND CRAFTS TABLE

Back to furniture pieces.
 Here's a small, side or drink table designed in the British Arts and Crafts style.

 Designer/craftsmen of the Arts and Crafts movement in the Cotswolds, like Ernest Gimson, Charles Ashbee, Ambrose Heal and the Barnsley brothers and others would often would incorporate simple inlaid or carved forms of nature to embellish their pieces.  After some research, I came up with this interpretation of a simple British Arts and Crafts piece that I think is more interesting than the traditional austere American Arts and Crafts period furniture.

This table is made of walnut solids and veneer and a simple maple inlay line on the top. The table is ready for finishing, which will be hand rubbed Danish Oil, and dark brown Briwax, allowing the natural wood grain to show.

 The table measures 16" in diameter and 21" high.  Small  in size, but  makes a statement that can easily be used in many situations throughout the home.

If you are tired of seeing all of the mass produced furniture out there, and are interested in finding a special piece of furniture that fits your personal style and requirements, please contact me.  We can design and build something as unique as you. cdheyboer@gmail.com

DEPRESSION ERA TOY MAKERS

Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers comics and movies during the 1930's inspired an interest in space, and wonder of all of those things out there. Movies with titles like "Forbidden Planet", Missile Monsters" and "Mars attacks the World" made for entertainment during this depressing time, featured far more action than logic, but nobody seemed to mind.

These stories inspired many to create home made toys, since shiny manufactured toys were simply out of the question for many families. People of that time were self reliant, and made many things for their home, including furniture, clothing,  musical instruments, tools, carts, toys and more. It was unheard of to buy a new piece of wood for a new project.  Nothing was thrown out, but saved for other uses, so the adventure began by finding exactly what was needed from the discarded furniture, leather harnesses, mop and broom handles, tin cans and buttons, boards and cans of lead paint. The hunt could take days before the cutting and shaping took form from their imaginations into unique space age guns.  The inspiration provided many hours of fun.

The tool shed, may or may not have had electricity, depending on where you lived, but it had all of the hand tools needed to build just about anything. Hand saws, hammers, files and rasps, screw drivers and wrenches, braces and assorted wood bits, along with cans of assorted bent nails and screws were available to kids who knew how to use them by watching their fathers build and repair things around the house and farm.
It was as much fun making it as playing.





Inspired by the past, I decided sculpt my own space gun from old furniture parts I had lying around. There is a lot of satisfaction in working with your hands.
Now, if I only had that time machine...............

Do kids today still have that spark of imagination?

PAINTED BOX ON STAND.........

Painted furniture is distinctive, unique, and personal and will always have a special place in any home. Just look around today and you will see examples everywhere. Magazines and web sites are full of pieces that are gaining a second life, thanks to fresh paint in bright colors.

I too, love painted furniture. It is a great way to accent a room, and blend traditional and contemporary styles with an interesting twist. The piece shown in this post is not an old second hand store piece, but a new design and construction. It's a box on stand, modeled after pieces once used to store valuables and papers. It measures 16"w. x 24 1/2"h. x 11"d. The box features a lock with a simple escutcheon on the face side, and is mitred on  the top and all sides, so it has a very clean contemporary look to it. The base is more traditional, with turned legs, and socket casters.


There are three different finishes on this piece though it may be hard to see in these photos.
First, the base has
a black, pebbly texture. The box itself, a deep mottled red pattern with a high sheen polish
The top surface needed special attention, so the center section is painted in a faux "Whale bone" pattern, simulating whale bone inlays of an other century. When you open the box, you see that it is left natural maple, and sealed with a hand rubbed  lacquer finish. I think this makes a very unique piece, and a great storage box for special keepsakes and treasures. It is small enough to move around, or could even be used as a chair side drinks table. Please contact me of you are interested in any type of custom piece of furniture.

GREAT READING............

Here's an offer for all of you that love fine furniture.  I have a collection of Fine Woodworking magazines that I no longer need, and would love to pass them on to someone who would be interested in them.  They range in date from the fall issue of 76, through 92.  There are 127 magazines, but some are duplicates, and not all years are complete. Many great articles in those magazines. I also have three copies of Home Furniture which was also published by Taunton 1996,and 97 issues.

Most copies are in perfect condition.
I would hate to throw them out. If you are interested, they are yours for the cost of shipping, (I am in Michigan). Contact me for a shipping quote.

GEM, OR JUNK.............

I recently found this little Art Deco styled chair at a flea market. It was cheap, and I liked its character, so I took it home.  The stretcher is cracked, the joints are loose, and the finish is a mess.  It would make a nice hall chair, or serve as a bed side stand. It's made of oak, and does not have any manufactures markings on it. Notice the little finger grip route on the back side, a nice touch I think.

Now, looking at it, I'm trying to decide it it is worth restoring or not. I'm just not sure, and not familiar with the Art Deco market. What do you think?? Does anyone have any thoughts?

 The chair measures 19"w. x 18"d. x 34 1/2" h.