Monday, December 30, 2013

Oversized Floor Mirrors

A few months ago, I found myself complaining to Ken that I needed a floor length mirror. He agreed to design and fabricate me a mirror and boy, did he deliver. My complaint launched a series of designs for oversized floor mirrors. The mirror was so stunning, we developed a line of oversized mirrors with custom finishes, sizes, and glass type.

The process:
Using the abundance of reclaimed timbers that date back to the 1800s, Ken constructed an oversized mirror frame after he planed, grinded, shaved, and sanded the reclaimed wood. The result was a 5 x 9 foot reclaimed frame. He called me out to the Studio to see if it would suit my needs…

The bones
With my seal of approval, we moved on to finish. I chose an antique black finish for this frame because I knew that the frame was going to outline a pane of antique mirror. Below is a picture of the new finish on the frame and the pane of mirror before assembly. 

Pre Assembly
Post Assembly
It is hard to tell here, but this mirror is antique glass that has inconsistent imperfections throughout the mirror. It is stunning and hard to capture on film but I have done my best to take some detailed shots of the mirror and frame. 

Corner detail with antique black finish


Antique mirror detail
The constructed 5 x 9 foot floor mirror is displayed at the entrance of our closet as seen below. It took four guys at 3 am to bring it into the loft and safely secure it to the wall. 

In all of its splendor
Each mirror has a hand rubbed patina and a choice of .25 inch mirror in regular or antique finish. The antique glass is state-of-the-art glass that has a distressed, well-aged appearance for a perfect antique pattern. Each mirror also has a layer of SoftTouch gripper on the bottom and a top wall mount for support. Mirrors can be custom made with a variety of finishes, mirror, orientation and size. 

Standard sizes are 3 x 7, 4 x 8, and 5 x 9. 

We have a 4 x 8 foot, antique mirror with an antique black finish on display at Lost Antiques in Design District Dallas, Texas. The mirror weighs 300 lbs. (Piece #45)

For information, purchase or custom order, please contact hello@studio217.com 

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Reclaimed Timber Coffee Table (Piece #50)

We decided to do another reclaimed timber coffee table and make it slightly different to test our design capabilities. The concept for this piece was similar. We used the reclaimed pine timbers and mixed them with pieces of hard maple and walnut. The unique thing about this table is the pieces of pine that we chose show the variety of the reclaimed beams. The colors and markings are completely distinct from other pieces we have worked with. The wood has more character and took stain radically different. Here is the table top once we glued up, grinded and stained.

Glue up in progress

Note the different patterns in the wood

We incorporated two pieces of hard maple into the table top because we knew that the table was going to have a dark finish and wanted the strips of hard maple to stand out. It creates a varietal of textures, tones and patterns into a single piece. This would also allow the end user a multitude of design capabilities. 

For the bases, we designed and hand forged 1/2 inch recycled steel. Each table top base is unique and customizable to each piece. The table creates a utilitarian design that can be used as a table, bench or ottoman. 

1/2 inch, hand forged recycled steel bases







Dimensions are L 71" x W 29.5" x H 14" and it weighs 270 lbs.



This table is available for purchase and is being showcased at Lost Antiques in Design District Dallas, Texas. For more information or for a custom designed piece, please contact Chelsea Layne at chelsea@studio217.com . 

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Reclaimed Timber Coffee Table (Piece #21)

This piece was our first attempt at an oversized coffee table and, in my opinion, it yielded some beautiful results. We found that we ran into certain design limitations when looking at modern day coffee tables. The limitations were functionality, size and durability. We set out to design a table that would serve multiple functions, be large enough for the scale of modern and mid-century couches, feature a low profile, and would be a conversation piece in any space. The design is beyond functional because it can serve as an ottoman, table or bench.

Staying true to our design concept, we used reclaimed materials to create the table. This table, in particular, is made with reclaimed pine timbers dating back to the 1800s from a historical site in the stockyards of Fort Worth, Texas. We used pieces of mahogany and poplar to add greater detail. The table was then glued up and set to cure. 

Fresh off the glue rack
From here, we cut three Wenge butterfly splines to determine positioning. 

Determining positioning for the butterfly splines
Once we determined their placement, Ken hand carved the table one inch deep so that the butterfly splines could be set into the tabletop. 

Hand carved
Butterfly splines in position
For the wood finish, we decided on a darker stain to bring out the polar detail and to soften the contrast between the reclaimed timbers and the wedge butterfly splines.

Table finish
With the tabletop completed, we designed table bases out of .5 inch, hand forged, reclaimed steel. 

Raw bases after welding
Bases added to the table top



The table is L 92.25" x W 24.5" x H 14.5" and weighs 312 lbs.

Currently this table is for sale and is on display at Lost Antiques in the Design District of Dallas, Texas. For further information or custom table order, please contact Chelsea Layne at chelsea@studio217.com.