It seems I am dangerously close to becoming a tile man, and projects that challenge and give great job satisfaction make me not mind that so much. As you can see from some of the other projects, I enjoy detailed, custom projects. These were fun, and it's fun to have clients with such good taste in colors and products. (You know who you are). These three projects are all in the same house.

The above is a fireplace surround. The 4X4 diagonals really make the hearth look interesting. Imagine the difference if it was just straight tile. Though the pictures don't really show it, the decorative nosing adds a nice touch as well. The surrounding cabinetry isn't finished yet. I will post an update when completed. I think the finished product will make us all drool!



The diagonal 8X8s give the floor sort of a quilted look.
Here's a doozie! The thing that makes tilework difficult is patterns, and how many cuts you have to make. I think this one has about 1 million cuts, and a step up and a step down to contend with. In addition to that, it's laid on top of existing tile, so I had to grind the glazing off the old tile with a diamond grinder so the new floor would stick. Worth all that sweat? I think so. (You would agree if you saw the old floor.)


AHHHHH! Wood, how refreshing! This coatrack/hat&gloverack is on the wall above the previously pictured mudroom tile . It is much bigger than it looks.

Here is a bookshelf that I built in my own house about a year ago. I'm just now putting it on here, because I just now wrapped the baseboard around it. Other carpenters have told me "You do your worst work on your own house.", but I thought to myself, "not me. I'll be different. I'll do my best work on my own place." Well, I say now that they were right. When you do it all day, you don't want to do it during free time. This one was a "when you have time" kindof thing. So please don't judge company quality based on just this one picture. Also, it is obvious that I need to make about three more of these to even get close for our books.

Hickory dresser/shelving. It is about 8.5 feet wide, with six big drawers(11.5X28 and 9.5X28, and adjustable shelving on top. However, all the shelves in the angled sections are fixed. The wood is hickory, and I did a Danish oil slurry finish. Slurry means that during the second coat of oil, you wet sand with a very fine grit sandpaper, and then again with an even finer paper for the third coat. The end product is is a thing of beauty. Even open grained woods like oak can be as smooth as glass. The whole piece was built in place, mostly due to the logistics of the house. (The piece wouldn't have made it to the third floor bedroom where it was installed.) It is such a joy to work with interesting woods like hickory, which has a very unique personality. Notice how I tried to make the individual pieces flow, like where it meets the ceiling, or the top drawer fronts. I tried to avoid abrupt color or grain changes at joints, so the appearance is that the board actually turns the corner. The drawer fronts will have antique style pulls, and I will update this post when they are on.

Mantles and Stairs- These are some projects that I did a builder. All they said was, "make them all different". So that's what I did. I just made up every one. I've included a set of stairs from the same builder. The shadowboxes on the wall are my work as well.

Here is a kitchen backsplash that I did. It is in the same house as the green marble bathroom post.

Yeah, you're right, that's a faucet behind the stove. It sure makes it easy to fill those great big pots.

The following pictures are of a bathroom that I tiled. It is all tumbled marble, and a lovely sea green that reminds me of the Mediterranean. If ancient Greece had indoor plumbing, this would have been what it may have looked like...


The shower has a skylight in it, and the whole thing is site-built. River rock line the floor, and there is a inset shelf for shampoo, ect. All the grout is an epoxy grout that is waterproof and will never stain. The shower is 48"X48", roughly.

Here you can see into the skylight hole. That must be cool to see while showering, huh?
Here you can see the river rock on the floor. The floor is sloped and waterproofed by me, and drains just like a store bought floor. It's very tedious, but the end result is worth all that hard work, I think.
The bathroom floor is 12X12 tumbled marble, with radiant heat underneath. Waking up to warm toes is a thing of beauty.

Another shot of the floor. The homeowners did a wonderful job picking the tiles, paint, and even adding the plants as a finishing touch. Congratulations on a lovely project, you two. You know who you are...!

This is a wet bar that I did. It is about 8 ft. long, turns 45 degrees for 2.5, then runs into the wall for 2.5, for a total of 13+ feet. Notice from this picture, you can see the bump-out in the wall that I had to build around. There is a microwave and refrigerator, and all shelving is adjustable.
These pictures show the wine racks. There are six, each holding ten bottles of wine. They are full-extension slides, rated for 100 pounds.

The look is mission style, flat panel. The wood is yellow birch, with a mahogany stain, to match the bar stools already owned by the client. The top is granite, and has a beautifully matching dark red look running through it.