Picture Tour of Shop and House, Page 5 of 6(1,2,3,4,5,6,)

   

This a view from inside the curved porch on our house. I made the curved screens in the shop, which was a challenge. We take the screens off in the winter, so there is a whole different look, but the floor finish is hard to maintain because snow and ice just sit on it. I've tried everything but the very best is spar varnish. The wood is straight grained fir, which means it came from big, old trees. The standard treatment would be deck paint, but I couldn't bear it. As a woodworker, I fully realize that I use resources that are scarce and often harvested with no concern for the future. The least I can do is preserve the beauty that is there.
   

This a big wardrobe in our entryway, next to the stairs that Kevin made. It's birdseye maple and mahogany. Our house was built in 1906 in the style some call "craftman vernacular," or made by work crews under the supervision of a head carpenter rather than a builder or architect. So the design and detailing is a pastiche, incorporating a lot of basically neo-classical elements done up in wood rather than stone. It's unconscious design, just what they did. My grandfather did the same thing a generation later, so I have a feeling of respect for that approach. When I make things specifically for the house, I try to honor the original craftsmen and so this cabinet has a neo-classical feeling, though I usually don't work in that style. The baskets came from Ellen's grandmother.
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