Art For Art's Sake

I recently had a unique opportunity.

Oakville based artist Michelle DeVilliers has ordered a number of pieces from Jacobson Construction.  A rather large craft table for painting sculpting storing etc, and a window seat with storage below.

When Michelle asked for some canvas storage, I suggested we make a trade...

This is the storage unit.  Approximately 8 feet tall by 7 feet wide.  Swivel casters make it easy to move about.  By the way, these casters are the best I have ever encountered.  Smooth running, even under considerable weight, and both the swivel and the wheel lock.

The frame is soft maple to match the table and window seat.

The shelves are fully adjustable and lock in place to keep the interior cabinet rigid.

The painted canvases slot into the shelves for easy access.

And here is the trade.  Michelle's Above the Falls now hangs on our dining room wall.

Thanks so much Michelle.  My wife and I are thoroughly enjoying the piece.

Built-in Bookshelves... and more

Jacobson Construction presents...

This wall of built-ins was designed to fulfill several functions.  The upper portion is for books and is accessed with a rolling ladder.  The bottom is split.  A desk in the middle is flanked by two sets of drawers.  They are capped with antique pine.

A view of the installed work.

LED pot lights were installed along the top for display items, and underneath to light the workspace.  The switches (the brushed nickel discs visible on the facing panel) are three step touch dimmers.

The rolling ladder is custom made, with hardware from Richelieu.  It rides along the length of the piece on the black, aluminum rail.

These boards were salvaged by Historic Lumber.  They are floor joists from a circa 1860 building.

The happy accident with these boards is that as I prepared them I noticed that the boards had knots in identical locations.  This seemed quite odd and impossible, until I realized that the boards were from the same tree.  The tree was most likely milled on-site, so the fact that some of the floor joists are from the same tree is not remarkable in itself, but what is remarkable is that they have stayed together all these years and found themselves laminated together here. 

I enjoy the counterpoint between the antique timbers and crisp, white, inset drawers.  The piece was designed to look more like furniture than cabinets.  Note the tapered legs.

The nightstand.

I wanted it to match the built-ins, but stand on its own as well.