fredricksburg harvest table

One I worked on over the past summer. Delivered back in August of 2012.  I like the design, but I would prefer to have a cross-brace and beam across the bottom. The client didn't want that, but if I ever make one for ourselves, I'll make the table have beam supports like the bench has.

For more pics of this one drop the hammer down on this link:Rustic Fredricksburg (dark, reclaimed barnwood style table)

slab bench

This new bench I made for the entryway is sort of inspired by a stonehenge type design. I've seen similar benches before, but basically my motivation and thought-process was:

1.) Make a long bench (narrow, yet with space for storage underneath)

2.) Keep it simple.
        <>   Keep it rootsy. Don't overthink it, (as I tend to do).
        <>   Get back to the very basics of what makes a bench. Often what makes something elegant/classic and/or special is not what is added to it, but what is omitted.

3.) I wanted to contrast and balance modern/minimilistic styling with classic, roughsawn and rustic beams. The beams are roughsawn, but sanded slightly to expose the grain.

3.) Additional/secondary considerations:
        <>    I made it slightly lower than standard seating. Standard Chair/Bench Height = 17"-18". I made this 16" so it is easier for the kids to sit on, as the root function of it is to have a place to put shoes on. Form ALWAYS follows function. For me anyway.
        <>    I loved the way Kristin's Hill Country Manor Dining Table turned out with the Local Texas Yellow Pine beams, that has dark figures and interesting grain patterns. I wanted to echo that effect, so I used the same beam stock from the load I ordered from the sawmill in Bastrop. As with Kristin's Table, I sanded just enough to expose the grain and figuring of the wood, but left the texture of the roughsawn kerf marks.

Old Brick Building

Every time I go down to Spaghetti Warehouse downtown San Antonio, I always admire the old brick buildings around the train tracks with all the old painted signs and stuff.

Having been a bricklayer, I have a special appreciation for masonry, and the magnitude of work and effort that went into some of these all-brick buildings.  Many of the older ones are multiple layers of brick thick because the brick was used for structural purposes, not just a aesthetic facade.


Finally had the presence of mind to get a shot of this one last night when we went.

Pallet Coffee Table: Cool Idea

Here's a cool coffee table one of my clients made out of an old pallet. Really like the patina/color she added to it also.  She said she ordered some big steel castors for it, can't wait to see it with them on it.