another summer project

  this project was a table retrofit for some old friends.  we go back more than 30 years,

but this is the first major project i have done for them.  good things take time to cook.

they have had this table since the beginning, as it came down from Fred's

grandfather a founding partner at Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill, a world famous

architecture firm founded in Chicago in 1936,

it started its life as a door that was too short for a ceo office in houston's

tenneco building, designed by SOM in the 1960s ...

 

the clients were looking for 'an Arts and Crafts feel' and they liked a

table i made fore some other clients back in 2005.  we did some back and

forth drawing exchanges and settled on the design you see in the first photo above.

there were some challenges ... the clients were looking to 'soften' the edges

and after i sent some samples, we settled on a bullnose design ... the edges of the

door were neither square nor straight so installing the new borders took

some time and effort, and a new $120. router bit ...

then, of course, we had to decide on a stain

and carefully strip the veneered door...

fortunately, it was still summer and i got lucky with a perfect breezy, warm day,

and the original (lacquer?) finish came off without a hitch

that about wrapped it up and off it went to its new life in its new form ...

i am pretty sure it is happier now ,,,

before shot