Photo Catch-up

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A recent article in The New Yorker about a man who has long been planning to write a book but has yet to write a word is titled “I’ll start this new project just as soon as all conditions in my life are perfect.” It has been months since I last posted on this site, and I’m tempted to use that same excuse, at least for my lack of new posts. However, rocky 2021 life (and it was!) didn’t slow me down with making progress on the structural interiors of my little house and more of its furnishings. I accomplished a lot and will load a group of photos here with brief descriptions to get caught up.

Hall Seat Plan; this is typical of the drawings I do in preparation for making a piece of furniture. Things could change mid-production, but I like having a guide to begin with. The dimensions are taken from Stickley’s furniture catalogs and converted into 1:12 scale, 1 inch = 1 foot, with a few minor exceptions.
Hall Seat, #224 ($32.00) was designed to have a storage box below when the seat was lifted. The piece will go in my master bedroom.
Complete billiard table ready for the third floor studio. I designed this table inspired by a Craftsman-style pool table I found online. Billiard tables have no pockets. Billiards was a more popular game than pool in the early 1900’s. It uses 3 balls and standard cue sticks, and I’m guessing it might have been more likely to be in this 1915 game room. My table will soon be joined by a group of billiard chairs (Stickley design), high enough to watch the action.
“Eastwood Chair” complete with cushions. This chair was originally cushioned with the choice of leather, sheepskin or velour
“Eastwood Chair” minus cushions. A beefy creation!! In fact it was the biggest chair Stickley ever made. It first appeared in 1901 and continued to be made for 12 more years. This chair must have been one of Stickley’s favorites because he had one in his own home in Syracuse., NY. This one will go in my master bedroom.
Original catalog entry (1910) for chest of drawers #906 with banded hardware. Note the price!!! Gustav complained that bedroom furniture was too often just extra items collected by homeowner and tossed into bedrooms. He was a trail blazer in designing furniture expressly for the bedroom.
Master bedroom chest of drawers #906. The size and design of this bedroom dresser is similar to earlier versions. But in 1910, Gustav introduced the heavy banded hardware with large ring pulls. This model disappeared in 1912. A hundred and ten years later, I still love it.
Chest of drawers showing drawers with “dovetailed” joinery. My dovetails are not angled like true dovetails but still require some tricky fitting and strengthen drawer structure.
Master bedroom fireplace, copper with hand-made copper hood, rather Art Nouveau in design. (My favorite…sorry Gustav!) The three panels above the mantle will eventually be filled with mirrors with chamfered edges.
Master bedroom French doors access second floor balcony on the front façade of the house above the street. There are two walk-in closets on either side with full length mirrors on their doors to be added later. The closet to the left of the French doors will be on the open side of the house and show the lady of the home’s clothes hanging inside, hats and shoes on the shelves!
Master bedroom door with transom above, opens to a large foyer with a full bath, nursery and child’s bedroom. Master bed and bed tables will occupy the wall next to the door, close enough to feel the warmth of the fireplace that is slightly raised above the floor level to project the warmth better.
View of dining room from living room through the colonnade. Cabinet on right side of colonnade is for china, accessible from both the living room and dining room. On left side is a small writing desk that folds up when not in use. Seats on either side of the fireplace will be cushioned and full of pillows.
View through colonnade from dining room to living room. Shelving next to the fireplace will be full of books.
Colonnade Inspiration – a photo I found on Pinterest.
Finished dining room fireplace. To see the process of making this fireplace hood, check out “The Dining Room Fireplace” post. Covid-19 delayed delivery of these bricks for more than a year. The swinging door next to the fireplace is the entrance to the kitchen.
Fireplace in third floor studio/game room. The ceiling in this room is slightly vaulted and will have ceiling beams radiating out from the fireplace. Between the beams will be an ornate skylight open to light coming from above the third floor roof.
Inspiration for the fireplace in the third floor studio/game room. I found this photo on Pinterest.
I call this a rectangular occasional table. Stickley’s tables were either “library” or “dining for the most part. This table #651 is just listed as “Wood Table” in the catalog with either wood or leather top. I used it to practice mortise and tenon joinery, not easy with those beefy legs! I think this table will go into one of the children’s rooms. TBD!
Rectangular table showing close up of mortise and tenon joinery and a peek at my wood burned hallmark underneath.
Third floor inglenook under construction. Seats will later have cushions and lots of pillows, of course. This inglenook is located under the dormer on the street side of the house.
Magazine photo that inspired 3rd floor inglenook design.
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