Freestanding Fireplace Island with Rustic Solid Maple Mantlepiece 

Patio home has been totally renovated. Carpets were replaced by new carpets in bedrooms; while a large dimension white sculptured tile was chosen as the floor covering for the remainder of the home, family room, and adjacent dining area and kitchen spaces. This produced a lovely appearance, but at the same time, gave the dwelling a slightly cold and sterile feeling. Lavish and eloquent use of natural wood completely offset this coolness, resulting in a warm and friendly atmosphere conducive to family enjoyment.

First, a maple window seat with bookshelves was created to fill an awkward 7’ X 12’ window niche, converting this unusable space to a friendly and inviting reading nook.  The centerpiece of this successful home conversion is the fireplace island centrally located between the family room and dining area.  This handsome edifice was created with a beautifully finished solid maple mantelpiece, maple plywood and hardwood trim all exquisitely hand crafted.  Its richness literally radiates beauty in all directions.

High Efficiency Study/Bedroom Wall Unit for an active College Student

The challenge of this project was to maximize use of this unusual bedroom space while providing an attractive and functional desk/bookshelf wall.  Requirements were to create a comfortable study space for a college student and companion with adequate drawer and shelf storage.

The construction design is based on the use of drawer cabinets as pedestals to support edged plywood desk tops. The tops are held in proper location by cleats mounted on the underside of the desk tops.  The high rise bookshelves are held firmly in place by removable screws placed upward through the desk tops and into the lower edge of bookshelf sides.

This method of construction allows for the attractive appearance of a built-in wall unit, yet with the ease of assembly and disassembly of a modular unit.

This project utilizes the strong grain patterns of birch plywood and color variations of poplar hardwood finished naturally with polyurethane to yield an attractive and whimsical look to this room.