Unique and one-off furniture pieces, right from God's backyard !
The Oak Maple Nightmare!
(The Blathering of a crazy man with a chain saw! Not a good combo.)
WELCOME TO:
GnarlyWood Studios
by: Lake Design.
Where unique, one-of-a-kind furniture of Contemporary / Rustic Design is the norm, not the exception.
The Oak, Maple Nightmare
<< The kitchen table is a ~5ft oak slice with center gone. Base is from a silver maple hollow log . It needs a ~ 72" x ~66" glass top on glass standoffs in the shape you desire (rectangle, octagon or other).
It seats 10. See this in the 'Projects' or 'For Sale' sections.
It always has amazed me at what the standard tree cutters would want to throw into the burn pile or cut up for firewood.
Those bug-chewed, rotted, or distressed sections of wood have a character all their own. The mission was to take what was considered unorthodox and mix it with design features and fine wood to bring out that .......
"GnarlyWood !"
Coming from 40+ years of artistry, architectural design, and a building background has given me a God-given eye for seeing the beauty in nature. Straight grain and fine joinery pieces have their place but not in my design studio or projects.
"""Ain't Happenin!"""
If I can't start the design off with a chain saw, it holds no appeal to me.
You won't see repetitive production pieces here. These are one-off, non repeatable designs with graining and natural damage that nature can only produced once. Every piece has its own challenges when deciding how to display its distressed beauty.
Most of the wood species we use are from Northern hardwood trees; Oak, Walnut, Maple, Catalpa and whatever appeals to us. We do incorporate metals into the mix, whether it's for structural support or even of old car parts, but the crux of this studio's work is distressed wood.
My biggest desire / challenge is the salvaging of woods from cutting sites that have unique or odd features, that generally aren't noticed until the logs are opened up. Most of what I'm currently working with now are ant-distressed pieces, where the grain is burled or "gnarled" due to infestation or damage. This demands that the trees try to repair themselves around such stresses. The end product is wild grains and interrupted coloring.
WELCOME TO:
GnarlyWood Studios
by: Lake Design.
Where unique, one-of-a-kind furniture of Contemporary / Rustic Design is the norm, not the exception.
The Oak, Maple Nightmare
<< The kitchen table is a ~5ft oak slice with center gone. Base is from a silver maple hollow log . It needs a ~ 72" x ~66" glass top on glass standoffs in the shape you desire (rectangle, octagon or other).
It seats 10. See this in the 'Projects' or 'For Sale' sections.
It always has amazed me at what the standard tree cutters would want to throw into the burn pile or cut up for firewood.
Those bug-chewed, rotted, or distressed sections of wood have a character all their own. The mission was to take what was considered unorthodox and mix it with design features and fine wood to bring out that .......
"GnarlyWood !"
Coming from 40+ years of artistry, architectural design, and a building background has given me a God-given eye for seeing the beauty in nature. Straight grain and fine joinery pieces have their place but not in my design studio or projects.
"""Ain't Happenin!"""
If I can't start the design off with a chain saw, it holds no appeal to me.
You won't see repetitive production pieces here. These are one-off, non repeatable designs with graining and natural damage that nature can only produced once. Every piece has its own challenges when deciding how to display its distressed beauty.
Most of the wood species we use are from Northern hardwood trees; Oak, Walnut, Maple, Catalpa and whatever appeals to us. We do incorporate metals into the mix, whether it's for structural support or even of old car parts, but the crux of this studio's work is distressed wood.
My biggest desire / challenge is the salvaging of woods from cutting sites that have unique or odd features, that generally aren't noticed until the logs are opened up. Most of what I'm currently working with now are ant-distressed pieces, where the grain is burled or "gnarled" due to infestation or damage. This demands that the trees try to repair themselves around such stresses. The end product is wild grains and interrupted coloring.
Cherry (Burn-pile) Burnt Gryphon wall hanging, taken from a cherry root found in a fire pit
See it in the "for sale" section
Beware of the WOOD SHARK ! See it (Contemporary/Catalpa/Chrome) in the 'For Sale' and 'Projects' sections.
A lil Walnut?
>>The kitchen table has two book-matched walnut slabs, bark left on, with 6 coats of epoxy. The graining is stunning. Legs are bark off maple from a hollow log. They are heavily coated with polyurethane and the bug distress is still on the back. It seats 6. See it in the 'Projects or For Sale' sections as well
Let's not forget the beauty of Metals.
<< Yes, it;s an Engine Block! Also in the 'Projects or For Sale' sections.
What do you do when you blow a rod in your 305 Chevy? Put the engine
in your Man Cave as a coffee table. Ford blue might be a nice alternative, eh?
*********************************************************************************************************************************
These are just a few samples you will see.
More will be coming as they roll out of the shop and as the site gets updated.
The Mission of the "Wood Re-hab" Program!
These are high-end pieces of Contemporary / Rustic design. They are not perfect since the heavily-twisted grains seem to stay alive and move. We live with that, dry 'em out and detox them down to 10% or lower moisture content, before working with 'em.
Wood with wild grains and in big pieces seem to be semi-unstable, unlike their straight-laced / grained (boring) siblings. We work with the troubled child here and try to straighten their act up. It's like "Wood Re-hab". Get 'em dried out, cleaned out, disciplined and make them productive members of the Furniture Society. (Hopefully they won't relapse and fall off the wagon.)
**************************************************************************************************************************************************************
We have moved. We still are searching for a shop. Stock will need cut to a minimum.
As of May 15th, 2013 we now have a residence in Cruso, N.C., 30 minutes west of Asheville and sitting 1/2 way up on Mt Pisgah and backed up to the Pisgah National Forest. Mt Pisgah tops out @ 5200ft. elev.. we rest at 3450ft elev. Our backyard attaches to Federal land and is 2.2 acres of wooded and cattle grazing land. Our front yard views Cold Mountain (book and movie fame from the Civil War).
For a shop facility, we are in the planning stage of putting up a 30' x 40' Quonset style building. This move puts us in the heart of the mountains and woodlands, where we have access to unique wood supplies and a relative has a sawmill with a 7ft tall blade powered by a Ford V-8..
Hmmm, Horsepower + Saw blade = Wood Carnage! YES! Select Cuts !
It has been an adventure!!
Stock of existing furniture is available, and soon a shop location will be built where we can increase quality and production.
We are also producing "Tiny Homes" (see www.QUONliving.com ).
Thanks for your patients.
Dan O'
**************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Thanks for looking and God Bless(es).
Dan O' ------- Gnarlywood, Lake Design, Architectural Studios.
What do you do when you blow a rod in your 305 Chevy? Put the engine
in your Man Cave as a coffee table. Ford blue might be a nice alternative, eh?
*********************************************************************************************************************************
These are just a few samples you will see.
More will be coming as they roll out of the shop and as the site gets updated.
The Mission of the "Wood Re-hab" Program!
These are high-end pieces of Contemporary / Rustic design. They are not perfect since the heavily-twisted grains seem to stay alive and move. We live with that, dry 'em out and detox them down to 10% or lower moisture content, before working with 'em.
Wood with wild grains and in big pieces seem to be semi-unstable, unlike their straight-laced / grained (boring) siblings. We work with the troubled child here and try to straighten their act up. It's like "Wood Re-hab". Get 'em dried out, cleaned out, disciplined and make them productive members of the Furniture Society. (Hopefully they won't relapse and fall off the wagon.)
**************************************************************************************************************************************************************
We have moved. We still are searching for a shop. Stock will need cut to a minimum.
As of May 15th, 2013 we now have a residence in Cruso, N.C., 30 minutes west of Asheville and sitting 1/2 way up on Mt Pisgah and backed up to the Pisgah National Forest. Mt Pisgah tops out @ 5200ft. elev.. we rest at 3450ft elev. Our backyard attaches to Federal land and is 2.2 acres of wooded and cattle grazing land. Our front yard views Cold Mountain (book and movie fame from the Civil War).
For a shop facility, we are in the planning stage of putting up a 30' x 40' Quonset style building. This move puts us in the heart of the mountains and woodlands, where we have access to unique wood supplies and a relative has a sawmill with a 7ft tall blade powered by a Ford V-8..
Hmmm, Horsepower + Saw blade = Wood Carnage! YES! Select Cuts !
It has been an adventure!!
Stock of existing furniture is available, and soon a shop location will be built where we can increase quality and production.
We are also producing "Tiny Homes" (see www.QUONliving.com ).
Thanks for your patients.
Dan O'
**************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Thanks for looking and God Bless(es).
Dan O' ------- Gnarlywood, Lake Design, Architectural Studios.