And nine months later we have a ..... Coffee Table!!

Just finished building a Coffee Table for an eco/green dream house in Portola Valley. After working with Patrick Dougherty in February on a sculpture on the property, I contacted the homeowners with my website and they contacted me back saying they wanted me to build a coffee table for the house! I was then put in touch with BAMO, their interior designer, and the process started.


In general I use discarded materials as much as possible, but this project really pushed every aspect of the build to be as environmentally friendly as possible. I'm most comfortable working in metal, and after hunting high and low for suitable wood I was referred to Marcus Sims of Treincarnation who ended up doing a top notch job. From the samples he sent to BAMO they selected the Walnut Crotch. Due to the tapering nature of the cut to get at the crotch section of the tree I came up with the angular design of the boards to allow them to strech-out lengthwise, but still fill in the whole top section. I can't stress it enough, Marcus did an amazing job.

The basic design was borrowed from the Axe Bench that I made for Stonington SeamWorks. BAMO asked that it be smaller (46"x22") and for the gaps between the wood to be tighter, so it would be more suitable as a coffee table. Countless emails later we worked out all the details and the building commenced. It was a real education finding out how much petroleum has gotten into all the products we use, but there are a few companies out there that are really making a difference and using more natural ingredients.

It was a pleasure working with everyone involved!

Ingredients:
  • Top: Rescued Walnut Tree (saved from chipper at new housing development) finished with Tung Oil thinned with Citrus Oil.
  • Base: Reclaimed Angle Iron (taken from a fish tank stand outside a Chinese restaurant, a junked bedbug-less bed-frame, and scrap from the set of The Good Wife) finshed with Raw Linseed Oil and Beeswax.
Players:
  • BAMO / Interior Design.
  • Marcus Sims of Treincarnation / Woodwork.
  • ArtWelderAndy / Design and Steelwork.

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