June give away

Garden Tables/ Benches

These are cut from a short log that would have ended up in a log pile somewhere or burned.  Cut on an angle I can get a longer slab.  Both are cut from the same log with sequential cuts.  The tables stand 17 inches  and are 30 inches long 18 inches wide.  They are rough cut and unfinished

Just like last month, if you are interested, send us an email and we will add you to the list

It's Like Trees In The Sky

It’s like trees in the sky

It’s beautiful.

The moments unfold more gradually these days. I’ve been temping 8 to 5 come lately and around 6.30 in the AM Kevin tells me of his daily plans. Yesterday it was rafters.

I often think how his day is going and about what progress he has made. I was delighted with the sight that greeted me as I drove down our road and pulled into the gravel drive.

These 11 rafters that reach into our woodland skies will roof the living room and Arthur’s loft.

I imagine myself inside the dry walled in house and making decisions on where to place the furniture Kevin will build. I envision a rustic luxury of open space, of abundant cabinets and built in bookshelves. I wonder at my bare feet on hard wood floors cut from local timber. I marvel at the idea of coffee on the deck overlooking the surrounding woods and lake. And I am fascinated that Kevin has already picked out where our Christmas tree will sit.

Reality Check: All the milling of logs that Kevin and Arthur accomplished this last summer in preparation for this build has dwindled. Kevin’s board count for the framing was almost spot on, but now I find him calculating his needs for the remaining rafters, roofing and a few minor interior walls. Already he’s pulled in logs from down the road and 2 huge pines that stood less than 100 yards from the new house site. I keep telling him no more clearing on our property, but apparently thinning is a different concept.

Our house is made of trees I’ve seen, touched and watched morph into something equally as beautiful that reaches upwards just like them.

My trees in the sky.

It’s beautiful.

~Cheryl

Sunburst Table - StickStoneSteel 1st Appearance!

Recently one of our previous clients asked told us about a non-profit charity auction she is holding to benefit for two women; one dealing with breast cancer and the other hodgkin’s lymphoma. She asked Kevin if he would donate some of what she calls his ‘rustic’ hand made furniture for the cause. He happily complied. 

She then asked if he could supply benches and tables for the food court seating of the Deep Roots Festival, Milledgeville, Georgia where her auction will take place.

With less than a month to go, Kevin plunged into his "StickStoneSteel" mode.  Between the Saw Mill fall off and the collection of items collected and obtained over time his palate was already full.

He’d already been playing with forge bending steel for benches for our own deck so Naturally while his mind clicked away at designs for benches made out of fall off wood he came into the house and asked me for whatever poster paint Arthur had left over in the craft cupboard.

Within in minutes, under the carport he had a concrete garden walk paver balancing on a couple bags of concrete and was joyfully painting away like a happy kid. 

With limited colors, he went freewheeling; digging at the bottom of the bottles where the thick colored gook had accumulated. He managed to scrape more than enough yellow for the center.  I watched him artfully dash out orange and red rays from that yellow core.  I am pretty sure he was fighting the urge to unleash a wild splattering of paint at it but refrained.

Hours later, after the paint had dried he brought the stand to the house.  Chain welded together for the tripod legs with a used saw blade to secure the balance. What you can’t see from this picture is an old grinding wheel holding the concert paper in place with a heavy nut and bolt.

Arthur has made a request that Kevin build one like this for his room.  I want one too!   Guess we’ll have to get more poster paint.  :)

~Cheryl

Man Chair Moved In !

The Man Chair has moved in and is seldom vacant.  Who ever gets there first calls it the ‘Me” chair. So comfortable!

Okay, forget that the black cushion doesn’t show up well against the background of the blue sun wall hanging, and forget that the lathe turned table with the basket on top and the lovely rustic Heart Pine side table to the left don’t match in any world.  What they do have in common though is the fact that Kevin built them all. Along with the 5’x3’ tablecloth covered coffee table in front.

Hey, it’s our living room, dining room and TV room.  Once the house is completed, I expect none of these four pieces of furniture will be wind up the same room.

In the history of Kevin and I and our furniture, with the exception of the bed and soon to be replaced couch, Kevin has built it all.  This includes my kitchen cabinets, bedroom armoire, breakfast bar and countertop, the 8-foot console our TV and Arthur’s Lego workspace rest on AND the desk I am currently working on. 

Granted much of it will be upgraded and or refinished for the new house, but I can always say my décor is one of a kind.  Along with that, all the wood etc that goes into the furniture has been salvaged either from old paid projects, or felled Trees from our land.

Of course, this in no way accounts for all the pieces he’s build for customers. Including the elegant 15-piece chair and dining room set (complete with upholstered back and seat cushions) for an upscale mansion in Eatonton, Georgia.  I have my designs set upon something similar for my new house, more rustic of course.  Or the country kitchen table for one of the weekend houses here on the lake.  If I can locate those pictures, I’ll be sharing those as well.

And!!!! I am very excited; I’ve learned that the boards have been cut for my matching love seat sofa!

~Cheryl

The Man Chair

The Man Chair - A Work In Progress

Sawmill fall off wood(bottom right insert) +plus+ well worn living room furniture =equals= New Man Chair!

And I do expect that there is a matching Love Seat next in line!

Kevin does upholstery work, hence the source for coils where the matching black seat cushion will rest. The black canvas came from a boat seat refinish project of summers past.

The stain wash is a secret mix of colors only of Kevin knows. The tones are layered then wiped clean to achieve this look.

At first sight I fell I love with the chair. The wood and black is extremely striking. Sleek, and I would have to say elegant.

We usually go for a more rustic look, but Kevin calls this the cowboy appeal. After a hard day riding the range, you want something to lean into and let go.

Growing up in the Mountains of Colorado on a ranch, he’s had many a day of tired muscles. Come to think of it, even though we have no animals, Kevin always puts in a full day. Dawn to Dusk. Some would say, myself at times, that he is a workaholic, but the way I see it, and I can relate to this as well, creativity must be expressed ~ continuously.

So here’s to creativity in motion on a daily basis!

Have a great Labor Day weekend! And you can bet where I’ll find Kevin: ~ AT THE SHOP!

~ Cheryl

Slabs From The Past

Hi All,

Kevin has been busy back at cutting lumber for the house, not sure of the board count but he is up to the 17 plus foot longs.

In the mean time I am sharing a picture of a few slab tables he's built in the past.  These have both sold.  The  current tables he has on the drawing board are more refined, but still have a wonderful rustic appeal.

~Cheryl