Before setting foot in my wood shop in Spring Mills, PA, the first step for every custom furniture project is design. I love creating customized pieces for my clients. Tried and true designs are great, but creating something new and unique is fun for both of us as well as incredibly rewarding.
I take the time to model all custom furnishings in Google SketchUp to ensure that I have a client’s vision and an accurate budget fully realized. I provide each client with their own design page with images and interactive 3D models of their design options as well as a quote for each variation.
Below, you’ll find examples of custom designs I’ve completed for clients (and some for my own home) over the years. Click on each of the titles to expand and view 3D models, images, and descriptions for each project. Click on the 3D models to activate rotation. This works best on tablets and computers. It can be buggy on phones.
When you’re ready to start your own custom woodworking project, contact me to get the process started!
Click on a project title to expand it and see details, images, and 3D models:
A-Frame Playroom Table and BenchI built this A-frame table and bench set for our good friends. They had struggled to find a kid-sized table for their play area that would hold up to the daily abuses of craft projects, pretend restaurants, and lunchtime. Most kid furniture is flat-packed, requiring assembly and periodic tightening of all hardware to keep it from wobbling.
The A-frame legs of this table and bench are great for stability, and rounded corners and edges make it comfortable and safe for hours of use. While the tops of both the bench and table can be removed, the bases are solidly and permanently affixed with screws and wood glue. All visible hardware sits down in counter-bored holes that I plugged for a smooth final finish. Loose hardware and wobbly legs won’t be an issue.
Here’s a few pictures of the final pieces for comparison to the original design plus a client photo of the table in its new home. If you’re interested n seeing how this project came together, I put together a blog post showing some of the steps of building this awesome playroom table and bench set.
I designed these benches for a client to match an IKEA Skogsta dining table. I built a pair of them, and they are sized specifically to sit next to each other on one long side of the table or one each at the two shorter ends.
This project was a fun challenge. Working from an existing table design, I created benches that complemented the larger piece. IKEA doesn’t make benches that match the table, so the client may be the only family in the world with a matching Skogsta dining set.
The table has several distinctive design elements that I incorporated into the benches: angled legs, a large “V”-shaped support structure between trestle legs, and what I can a “through dado” – a crossbar at the base of the V that sits in and extends beyond a channel in the lower supports of the trestles.
Here’s a few photos of the final benches:
I designed this bench with an integrated angled shelf for my daughter’s room. She was four years old when I finished the build, and there was a temptation to paint the finished bench with bright colors to match her room, but I ultimately decided to go with a stained top with a white base, a timeless look that work wells now and that will continue to look beautiful as she grows and her tastes change.
As the design is definitely something that works for any age, I staged a photo in a more neutral setting before moving the bench into my daughter’s room and filling it with her books. This would make a great addition to a front hallway or a reading nook in any home.
One of my first custom designs and builds, a pair of these plant stand benches sit on our front porch. We have a covered porch across the entire front of our house, and we wanted to fill the space with something that would add curb appeal while also being functional.
These benches fit this bill, and the only problem we have is deciding if they look better in the spring filled with a variety of annuals or in the fall with large pots of hardy mums.
Check out this blog post to see more details of how I build these planter benches.
This massive patio set features an 8 foot by 4 foot table with four benches. All pieces feature castle joints on the corners and half-lap joints on the long sides. The legs and sides of the benches are made of 4x4s, and the legs and sides of the table are made of 6x6s. The table weighs more than 500 pounds!
Here’s a closer look at one of the castle joints in the model as well as a photo of an actual corner I built as a test piece to make sure I could build it to the client’s specifications.
The Castle Joint Patio Set is an ongoing project for the first half of 2020. (I’m making two complete sets!) Follow my Instagram for updates. Once the project is complete, I’ll post photos here and on the Project Gallery page.
Another large project for 2020, I designed this dining table for my family. The top will be made of hard maple and stained a dark brown to complement our floors, and the base will be pine stained an onyx black-brown to match our kitchen cabinets.
I’ll post updates later this year as I progress with the build.
Ready to start your custom furniture design?
If you live in the State College, PA area and are looking for piece of custom furniture, I would love to hear from you. I deliver to all corners of Centre County, and smaller pieces can be shipped if you live further away. Contact me today to start your the custom furniture design process!