New Cabinets, Coatracks

Here are several photos of my latest pieces. The large colorful cabinet on the right is setup as an Armoire. I purchased the carcass of this cabinet at Allemany Flea in SF quitea few years ago. I used it to store my ski jackets, etc. , in my house. I moved it in to the shop many months ago and there it sat with all my other "projects". It was originally a "built-in" cabinet, kinda ugly with the top and bottom panels of the door having had many small holes drilled into the wood, and a very blah coat of grey and green paint on it. I added a nice set of old cast-iron stove feet and some old chair rail trim to the bottom to lift it up. I found these colors under the top layers of paint., and that inspired me to fill in the door panels with the very colorful vertical boards you see in the photo. Some old chippy trim as crown moulding and some cast-iron victorian hardware completes this piece. I wish I had taken a "before" photo, what a difference. The six drawer piece I found at Urban Ore in Berkeley, pretty tore up but it was obviously very old, sqaure nail construction and hand carved drawer handles. I think it would make a nice night stand type piece next to a bed or even a couch. I added feet and the top and the shelf /backsplash construction. The crest above the shelf is another piece from the lot of old victorian furniture parts I bought from Steve at Ohmega salvage in Berkeley. The small balusters holdng up the shelf came off of Ebay, very cute. The small wall cabinet I found in a Middletown, Ca. antique store. Divine consignments I think is what it is called. Owner is Gwendlyn, very friendly. It was just a shell, I added beadboard on the back, made a door out of some old beadboard, and added trim and the beautiful cast-iron victorian hardware you see in the photo. I have also added some photos of the new coatracks I recently made. I have been buying lots of old cast iron coathooks on ebay recently, they are getting harder to find. There is one photo of a coatrack where I used some brass eastlake victorian curtain tie-backs as hooks. Very unique hardware, beautiful castings. Thanks for looking, Bryan I will be at Alameda Pointe first sunday in June (6/7). Booth space T-20

Kitchen Cabinet Refacing Project, Really Cool Art!!

These photos are of a project I recently worked on in Lake County. The first Kitchen photo is of the cabinets as they appeared before starting. I took off all the doors and began by applying a layer of material on the face frame. I started with some 100 yr old beadboard salvaged from a remodel job in Oakland, Ca. last year. There were many layers of paint, I sanded down to the colors I liked, white and several shades of a cream color, with just a hint of red peeking out. Visually, it is a strikingly different look from the natural wood tones originally there. There are several more photos of the cabinets after the face frame and doors were completed, I will continue to post photos as the project continues. The two photos at the top of my post are of a Doghouse I found displayed on the lawn of an antique store in Middletown, Ca. I loved the whimsical nature of this anonymous artists creation. The owner of the store said it predated her arrival, didn't knw the maker. Enjoy! Bryan

OLD GROWTH,GUILT FREE,Planter Boxes, Coatracks, Custom Table

The first photos are of some custom planters recently completed. These boxes are made from REPURPOSED OLD GROWTH stock. I use old decks, fences, and door parts. I remill it and build these boxes. I have been building planters like these for over 15 years, many are with family and friends and are still in use today. The planters I see sold commercially today are built with inferior materials such as redwood containing sapwood( it is the outside layers of the log, it is white in color and it rots out within a couple of years- is usually disguised by application of full-coat stains), cedar(again, has very little resistence to decay), or second growth redwood(pink in color, what you see at the lumber yards today, and again has much less resistence to decay than old growth). I believe that my boxes will last decades. I build them on a frame fastened with stainless steel screws, the boards are nailed with galvanized nails. I use full 1" stock for the bottoms, and use a transparent penetrating oil finish to enhance the natural color of the wood. I have seen only one other company making high quality boxes like these, they are on the web, located near Healdsburg, and my prices are approx. half of what they are charging. I have applied and been accepted by seveal local farmers market associations to sell these boxes as an artisanthis summer. I will be visiting the Marin Farmers markets in San Rafael throughout the summer, thurs. and Sundays at the Civic Center. Also, the Urban Village markets, Claremont(Oakland) and Los Altos. Contact me for specific dates. The table pictured here was a custom order. I recently was given a quantity of rough sawn Douglas Fir framing stock, repurposed from a SF victorian remodel. The clients wanted a rustic piece, they visited my studio/shop and picked out this material for their table. I attached it to a base they purchased at the Alameda monthly Antique Faire,a heavy cast iron piece.I liked the way it came out, I plan on building several other tables out of this material. Finally, I posted several more photos of coatracks, many of these are going to Zonal, on Hayes st. in SF. I am still using the antique furniture parts as embellishments on these, they are very popular.

Antique Furniture Salvage, Tables

Here are some new photos. The small metal cabinet I recently picked up at the local flea(Allemany in SF). I put a photo of it in the last post here it is with a new top! The next one is a small table built with some more of the Lodi farmhouse beadboard material, I love the beach blue/green colors. The turned post is some salvage from an old victorian porch railing assembly, I found this at Urban Ore in Berkeley. A wonderful warehouse full of possibilities! The base is a piece of marble(wrapped in wood), once the step of a victorian entryway on Hayes St. in SF. The coatracks below are examples of some new pieces I have been making using some antique furniture salvage I recently bought from Steve over in Berkeley at Ohmega Salvage. They have a wonderful inventory of beautiful salvage pieces from all over the world. They are on San Pablo in Berkeley. Check them out! Finally, Thanks to all who visited at the Petaluma Antique Fair this past sunday, the weather was perfect and the people could not have been friendlier! I had a great show and many pieces found a new home! Looking forward to this sundays upcoming Alameda Pt. Antique fair, hope to see you there. I will be back in space T-20. Hope the weather cooperates. Peace, Bryan

In the last post I showed these Black Walnut furniture crests as raw material. Here are a couple of photos of the finished products. The larger photo show a coatrack with vintage hooks and steel doorknobs. The beadboard background came from some material salvaged from a Lodi, Ca. area farmhouse. It was given to me by my good friend Roff Graves at Graves Country Folk Art Gallery. A link to his gallery can be seen at the "links" section of this blog. The other crest I used in a coatrack of very fancy antique brass doorknobs. I have been collecting these knobs for many years, these are some very nice ones. I really like the way these turned out. The driftwood coatrack uses some black porcelain and vintage crystal knobs. This piece, and the driftwood table below it are alot like the pieces I made many years ago when I worked with my good friend Jon Westburg at Creations From The Sea. The table was a custom piece. The client wanted a rustic approach, she has several other of my pieces and wanted something not so Shabby Chic for her living room. I had fun exploring the shore of the bay around Oyster Point where I live, looking for material. I will be making some more pieces like this in the future. The driftwood coatrack, and many others can be seen at a store in Fairfax Ca., called Beachhouse Style. They have a wonderful store full of unique items. The black walnut furniture crest coatracks, and many other unique pieces will be shown this sunday, April 26 in Petaluma at the Petaluma Downtown Antique Faire, booth space no. K-62 (Kentucky St). Should be alot of fun! Hope to see you there! Peace, Bryan

Store sales counter, Raw Material

Went out to our local flea market on Sunday. A great day of hunting. First is a small nightstand type metal cabinet. It will clean up nice with a new wood top. The small rusty heating vents are cool, I have already cleaned them of rust, they will be fun to work with. The cast iron table bases were marked "san francisco press club", they must of had an auction. I purchased 4 of these. The Eastlake wood pieces are parts of old furniture, I love them. Finally, my best find. A spring clip, cast iron of victorian vintage I believe. I collect victorian hardware. I have never seen a clip before. Very Cool! The other 2 photos are of a sales counter recently custom made for a San Francisco store. I had not had a chance to get photos since they opened up, It really looks nice in their store.

Busy Boy

I've been a busy boy, lots of new coatracks. Doorknobs, faucet handles, antique cast iron hooks, even vintage garden nozzles. Here are some photos. Email me to see detailed photos. These will be up on the website soon! bappleton01@yahoo.com. peace, bryan