SYD – Fine Furniture/Design

Tag: japanese

  • Uchi Houston Host/Hostess Stand

    Uchi Houston Host/Hostess Stand

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    I was approached by the company managing the highly acclaimed Uchi restaurants in Texas area for a revamp of the host and hostess stand there. The original one was made out of walnut plywood and it had been showing some wear and tear for awhile now. My clients wanted to use locally sourced spalted pecan to match the other furniture in the restaurant. 

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    I went to my favorite local sawmill Berdoll Sawmill in Cypress Creek, TX to get the spalted pecan. Spalted wood is beautiful, but it can be too busy if used without restraint. The front, sides, and the legs are spalted pecan, but everything else is made from hickory plywood to give it a nice contrast without the contrast being too stark. I allowed a expansion gap in the center of the front so the solid wood pecan could move freely without cracking. 

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    This new host stand was an opportunity to correct/add details that improved the functionality of the host stand. The first improvement was creating one of the legs hollow so the power cord can be discreetly fed through the cabinet and up to the top surface. Another improvement was creating a recessed area for the monitor to sit in. The clients wanted the customer’s first interaction with the friendly hosts and hostess to be unobstructed by distractions. The sides and the front is raised up front the top surface for this purpose- to hide any clutter that accumulates during a busy dinner service. 

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    In the cabinet, there are 3 doors, 1 drawer, and 1 cubby area. On the side, there is a little menu holder made out of spalted pecan. I chose a toned down board of spalted pecan for the menu holder so there’s a bit of a contrast. 

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    This was a fun project that meant a great deal to me. When I first moved to Austin and I was looking for a job, I worked as a prep chef there briefly until I could get my bearings in town and go work for a guitar maker. I recall my brief time there with warmth. The chefs and everyone there were extremely friendly and the buzz I felt during dinner service was intoxicating. I always wonder what would have happened if I stayed there instead of pursuing my woodworking career. 

     

  • Caswell 136 Shelf

    Caswell 136 Shelf

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    My Client approached me to solve a problem they’ve been having for years. They have a large collection of art pieces they’ve collected on their travels but nowhere to show it off. The living room would be an ideal place for the shelf but there wasn’t a place that looked natural. They also didn’t want anything standard or ‘off the shelf’. The shelves should be something sculptural and visually pleasing by itself and would compliment the pieces shown.

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    The first problem we had to face was where to put the shelves. After some back and forth and several version and full scale models of the initial design, we came up with the perfect place for it. The only thing was that it was in a corner that made a 136 degree angle. To add to the difficulty of working with those angles, I designed the shelves into curved shelves, and to add to even that, the shelves are all different sizes, getting smaller the higher up the shelves went. Oh, and did I mention that the center support pole is angled?

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    Our concept of the design started as curved shelves with a single pole that supports the shelves. To me, the design has a feel of a Japanese paper umbrella mixed with Japanese folding fans. There is an open space behind the shelves where the pole connects to the shelf which lighten up the structure and make it where it doesn’t look like a ‘built in’ furniture, but more like a free standing furniture that’s just leaning against the wall.

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    of course, everything is anchored to the wall and floor so it’s super sturdy. The pole has limbs that come out that help support the bulk of the weight on the shelves. The limbs are joined to the center support pole using double mortise and tenon so there’s no worry about the shelves containing the priceless art work (and the memories attached to them) to ever come off and break. To keep the pieces from potentially sliding off, I also included a tiny lip around the perimeter of the shelf so it contains everything in.

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    The whole thing is made out of cherry with stain and finish to match the credenza I made for this client earlier this year.