Archive for September, 2007

Fine Dining

Friday, September 21st, 2007

Some projects are too good to pass up, even if they are huge and you have a regular job. I finished one recently for a 7ft by 4 ft dining table custom built for the 10th Anniversary Coastal Living Idea House in River Dunes, NC. It was a lot of fun to build but a handle to get finished on time.

I was given two pictures by the designer who said “can you take this part of this picture and use that part of this other picture and make a table?” Well, yes. The wood came from Southern Accents in Cullman, AL and was reclaimed red oak timbers from a barn. Rustic as the day is long!

The challenge came in getting the joints to line up well. The wood was simply beautiful–loved it. [See pictures of it here] I made it in 5 pieces that connected using minimal hardware. Shipping it was a challenge, but upon arrival everyone was happy. It looked good in the house which was photographed in August and will appear in the November issue of Coastal Living. They did add a slight stain to the top to make it better match the wood flooring and lessen some of the redness of the wood. I liked the original penetrating oil finish, but I loved how the table looked in place with the chairs and settees.

This was a great project and I am so pleased to have had the opportunity to showcase how beautiful reclaimed wood can be. I hope to have additional challenges to make something old new again.

Grand Opening

Friday, September 21st, 2007

I went to the grand opening of Cahaba Clayworks this evening. What a fun and totally enjoyable evening. There was a great jazz band [Rhythms Band, 205/837-2269], a wine consultant [Foster Smith, 205/908-174] providing a bit of education with some wonderful affordable wines from The Vintage Wine Shoppe , and pottery glazing and firing. I tasted a great Reisling that I plan to purchase. It was so wonderful to have arts and culture going on locally. I loved seeing my teachers and a few fellow students. I will be taking more classes this fall and hopefully creating more “masterpieces”. I encourage anyone to try pottery. It is a blast!

Oh, and I bought my first piece of art. Great feeling! Any other art I own is strictly amateur–created by me.