Category: Kitchens

October 3, 2014

Extreme Shaker Kitchen, Ash Vanity

This week and last, Adam returned to New Hope, Pennsylvania in Bucks County to install a large modern vanity and some closet built-ins in a dramatic overhaul of an old stone farmhouse. The kitchen, described by the homeowner as “Extreme Shaker” style, also features white countertops and Miele appliances including an induction stovetop, oven, and steam oven in the island. For another look at the cabinetry, with a variety of views of the pantry pullouts and drawers in action, see this previous post. Shaker Knobs by Nice Knobs and Farrow + Ball Paint in Stony Ground.

The clean-lined 10 foot long vanity was designed by the homeowner and is deceptively simple-looking. It boasts a cantilevered Ash countertop, hand towel cutouts- and a very neat finish. First the lumber was bleached using a two part wood bleach, then three coats of soap finish were applied (nota bene – soap finish process and product described here). The soap finish is not yellowing or shiny at all and is frequently used on floors and furniture in Scandanavia. For another look at the construction of this vanity, see this previous post.

soap finish on wood

Grain flows across the vanity front

bottom drawers extend to the wall with no outer face frame

After a full day’s work installing custom closet rods and shelving ( painted Farrow & Ball Lamp Room Gray), our work at this remarkable house has been wrapped up- for now.

September 29, 2014

Black and Cherry Kitchen revisited

Unique Kitchen Island doubles as dining table and wetbar

It is always a joy to go back to one of the kitchens we have created and see the totally finished space in use. The front door to this home needed some Cherry interior trim installed, and a couple custom thresholds put in (all handmade and finished in the shop). The window trim in the kitchen that blends seamlessly with the custom Cherry upper cabinets was also made by us. This entire home is a stunner and filled with antique wood furniture that looks great in the new timberframe and SIPS space.

Beacuase this homeowner couldn’t get the look and quality she was seeking from a stock cabinetry salesman, they chose to go the handbuilt route, with lovely results. The lightly distressed black lower cabinet frames and the island are highly unique. The finish on all cabinetry is durable dull sheen waterborne lacquer. Both the round sink in the island and the larger single basin main sink are hammered copper. All hardware is black iron. Large expanses of oiled Cherry slab in the island top invite a lingering caress and draw the eye. All cherry was provided by the client who happened to have dried and aged lumber in storage ready to be utilized.

This post gives a look back at the drawings for this kitchen as well as the progress photos in the woodshop, while this one shows the gorgeous custom bathroom vanities built for this home outside of Benton, Pennsylvania.

Cherry topped Table with black legs

Cherry custom kitchen

April 3, 2014

Slab Walnut Island Counter

Slab Walnut Counter

A kitchen rennovation in Bloomsburg, PA was capped off with a gorgeous slab Walnut counter on the island. After considering a butcher block versus a thick solid slab, the homeowners opted for the latter. This beautiful wood countertop started as two enormous 3″ thick boards from Alderfer Lumber. The client decided to embrace the lighter sapwood and live edge details that define the edge of the former tree. Isn’t Walnut beautiful?

After flattening and joining them together, Adam used four carefully placed dovetail keys to strenthen defects or knots in four areas and filled another knot hole with epoxy. At each end a perpendicular board crosses the long grain of the counter, joined with mortises and tenons and pegged so as to allow seasonal movement of the wood. The counter then was sanded, and sanded, and sanded before heavy coats of mineral oil were applied and allowed to soak in under plastic wrap. Finally, a custom beeswax/ coconut oil/ mineral oil top coat was rubbed on and buffed out for a completely food safe finish. Some people think wood counters are hard to care for, we disagree. Here is a good arcticle on maintaining an oiled wood counter.

Live edge with Breadboard ends

The homeowners seem pretty thrilled with the result.

” Oh my goodness gorgeous! This is unbelievably beautiful, Adam and Nicole. Thank you so much for your hard work and labor in this. We absolutely LOVE it.” – H.A.

“Thank you Adam. It has been a lovely experience to work with you guys on this… I got to see something that I always wanted come true, I felt fully involved with it and I LOVE the outcome. It means a lot to me.” – S.S.

Finished with mineral oil and beeswax

pegged mortise and tenon joinery

Dovetail Key detail

December 24, 2013

Black + Cherry Kitchen and Vanities

These are some progress snapshots of the amazing timberframed home in Orangeville, PA where our latest custom kitchen has been installed. The Italian stove is a showpiece and the Kitchen Island with canitlevered light by Restoration Hardware stands out. The Island will allow seating on three sides and serve as the sole dining table.

Two bathroom vanities are also in. The Master bath double sink vanity boasts a substantial Black frame with Walnut drawers. The smaller bath has a spalted poplar vanity with a Mexican ceramic sink. The details of the house are coming together and we will get some finished images when things are settled.

November 5, 2013

In the Shop: Black and Cherry Kitchen

Handcrafted Cherry and Black Kitchen with Table side of Island shown

The black knobs and bin pulls are not yet on, but this special handcrafted kitchen is nearly ready for installation at an amazing new home in Columbia County, Pennsylvania. The homeowner decided to go with us when the semi-custom kitchen vendors just couldn’t give her the look she was going for- Cherry upper cabinets, and black base cabinets with some of the black rubbed off to allow the grain to show through. And they just happened to be sitting on a seriously nice stack of dried Cherry lumber.

Stock and semi-custom kitchens can’t offer islands as unique as this one!

The uniquely shaped large island has a hammered copper sink and oiled Cherry counter, garbage pullout and overhang with legs on one side for seating.

Dovetailed Inset Drawers on soft close self closing undermount slides are standard

Hand rendered layout drawings are included with our kitchens

August 7, 2012

New Hope Shaker Kitchen

Handmade Shaker Kitchen

For three days near the end of July, Adam (with some much needed help- those tall cabinets were heavy!) installed the custom Shaker kitchen in New Hope. The homeowners added an addition to their stone farmhouse which more than doubled the living space. They chose very clean looking shaker style cabinets with a large center island, tons of drawers, and stately tall doors.

The kitchen is painted in Farrow & Ball’s color Stony Ground. Knobs are by Nice Knobs. The whole room will look quite different when the waterfall-edge concrete counters and state of the art appliances (including an induction range) are installed. The floors are antique lumber which helps to give this new room a feel that will mesh with the older portion of the home.

One of the unusual details in this room is the way that the cabinets meet up with the stairs into the room. The drawers were designed to fit right around the landing. Other unusual touches include the omission of a toe kick, integral ventilation grates, a special drawer with a paper towel holder in front (see the top island shot), a spice drawer, integrated knife block and silverware organizer, as well as the pantry (on the left hand side of the room) which boasts pocket doors.

July 21, 2011

Custom Butternut Wine Rack

If you’re in Malvern, Pennsylvania, you could go visit this beautiful custom Butternut Wine Rack at the General Warren Inne. Butternut is sometimes called “white Walnut”, since it is similar, but lighter colored.

This piece holds 40 bottles, stemware, and openers- with panache.

June 14, 2011

The Corner Drawer

90 degree corner drawer

We often get special requests for something different or unique, like this cool corner drawer in a kitchen. Corners are tricky spots – the homeowner had seen a drawer like this, and wanted one for herself.

If you are looking for something special, please ask, because the answer is usually, “Yes, we can do that”. That is what custom woodworking is all about.

Custom Kitchen Plains, PA

August 31, 2010

Kitchen Feedback

“Every one loves the kitchen. We love working in it. It couldn’t have come out better. It’s my favorite room.

The key is finding a cabinet maker that is open to suggestions and is willing to work with you. The guy we got was great. Every time I had an idea, he executed better then I had dreamed!”- E.S. (via Facebook) Plains, PA

August 28, 2010

Drawing for Custom Bloomsburg Kitchen

This redesigned Bloomsburg, PA kitchen features natural cherry cabinets with flat Shaker panel doors, and inset doors and drawers.
All of our cabinetry is constructed with solid local lumber and FSC-certified furniture grade plywood and the finest hardware,
including soft-close self-closing undermount slides.

Changes to the original layout include 3″ more of cabinet wall length in either direction and a furniture-style hutch and island that would be painted a satin distressed black. Shaker wood knobs would be a matching black. There will be seven paneled ends including three sides of the island. The reworked design has a drawer to the right side of the range, for cooking utensils or spices.The island legs would be attached to the cabinetry and the apron around the counter would be eliminated (corbels would be included if need be, to support the countertop). The hutch has furniture legs and a decorative apron as well as an upper section primed for display- with two divided light doors, a beadboard back and corbeled sides that extend to the counter. The base of the hutch houses a blind corner larder unit that utilizes the hidden space, in addition to three drawers. To the left of of the hutch is an open bookcase for cookbooks. The garbage and recycling pullout has been relocated to the right of the ovens, close to the sink and dishwasher.