The "6/26" Serving Tray Giveaway!

Inspiration in wood design comes from a lot of places.  Sometimes it's nature, sometimes it's architecture and sometimes it's the wood itself.  On Friday, the Supreme Court affirmed marriage equality for our entire nation.  And we were inspired. 

I came home to the shop with an idea.  (Sometimes the best ideas come when you're on two wheels. This one did!)  I wanted to make something to celebrate the decision and I wanted someone to have it, a gift from Shy Dog to our little part of the world.  When I had a look at our lumber stock, the wood itself confirmed my idea.  Bloodwood, Yellow Heart, Cherry... All the stock we'd need was already sitting on the shelf, asking to be used.

Bloodwood, Cherry, Yellowheart, Poplar and Purpleheart

And so, we've created the "6/26" tray as our small homage to the good news.  The outer portions of the tray are from beautiful, figured hard maple and the center stripes are crafted to match the Rainbow Flag in red (Bloodwood), orange (Cherry), yellow (Yellowheart),  green (Poplar heartwood), and purple (Purpleheart.)  Yes, I know I skipped blue, but finding naturally occurring blue wood is not exactly the easiest thing in the world...so we'll just have to live with a tiny bit of artistic license. 

The whole serving tray sits on sculpted legs of Sapele and has been hand rubbed with multiple coats of beautiful blonde shellac.  I wish everyone could see the grain of this maple in person, it's practically three dimensional.

So, what do we do with this?  We're giving it away!  We want it to be a gift to everyone who supports Shy Dog and marriage equality.  As such, all you need to do is the share our giveaway post on your Facebook timeline or Twitter feed and make sure you "Like" our page  (Facebook.com/shydogdesigns)  Once you've done that, your name is in the hat and you could win the serving board!  Drawing planned for July 15.



Best of luck to all and may the odds be ever in your favor!

A Long Awaited Library

Gloria and Tom had always wanted a library added to the addition of their Interlaken home. Last year they finally got their wish!  Built-in book shelves sized large enough to handle their current collection...with room for more!

The scale of large built-ins can be challenging for a one man shop.  (It was this project that inspired me to finally replace my shop's overhead doors with swing-outs to reclaim some much needed overhead space!)  But to me, nothing looks better than floor to ceiling books.  I was excited to see these made reality.

After looking though several versions of designs mocked-up via 3D CAD, Gloria and Tom chose a receding and reducing form that draws the room and eye out towards their existing bay window.  At Shy Dog, things are very often designed from the floor up to suit the existing space.  The beauty of custom units is that they can be made to fit even the most challenging spaces.

The shelves, trim and crown moldings are all red oak, stained to match the couple's existing trim and finished with a satin water-based acrylic topcoat.  (One of my favorites.)  Every shelf is completely adjustable in two inch increments and still strong enough to support all of their books easily!  

Building anything into an existing spaces can be a challenge, but very often the rewards are worth the effort, especially when your favorite authors can live right next to your comfiest chair.

Hey, it looks like it's time for some new books!

When you can't find an 11 foot sofa table...

Going with a piece of custom furniture means you aren't limited to what a store can provide.  Stock sizes are no longer an obstacle.  When Amanda and Michael needed a sofa table of unusual proportions, Shy Dog had the solution.

While no catalog has an 11 foot long table, that's only 15 inches deep, that's exactly what they needed to sneak in behind their extra long couch.  Taking a fairly standard design and stretching it to nearly twice the normal length, we created a double-length sofa table built to match the exact height of the back of their couch. 

Because it was a custom build, Amanda and Michael got to choose their style wood species and finish.  After seeing a few different versions mocked up in a 3D CAD program, they picked a Shaker-like leg design with true thru-tenons, done in walnut with an ebony stain under garnet shellac to give them a deep, rich color that would pair nicely with their existing hardwood floors.  The table is constructed with classic joinery that will allow movement and prevent cracking as the seasons and humidity change.  It can even be partially disassembled should the need arise.  (Because who wants to move and 11 foot table?!)

We hope Amanda, Michael and their family enjoy it for years to come!

Here are some of the custom samples I created for them to choose from...

True Thru-Tenons

And here is the final table. Before it left the shop on the left, and after install on the right...

Just in time to hold the buffet at the annual Superbowl party!