These small boxes can be used for storage, display, or simply as decoration – they will look great on your walls with or without anything in them. These playful, wall-mounted boxes are extremely easy to install, allowing for unlimited display possibilities and design opportunities. The maple boxes shown here fit twelve CD cases snugly. Please ask about custom sizes to fit your individual needs.

Dimensions: 6″ x 6″ x 6″ (Shown)
Materials: Solid Maple or Cherry
Finish:Three Coats of Wipe-On Polyurethane

Photos by Jim Dugan.

This Arts and Crafts-influenced chest is constructed from solid cherry and maple veneer. It features frame-and panel construction and wedged, through-tenon joinery. All parts are shaped and planed by hand. The version shown has a removable, sliding tray.

Dimensions: 48″ L x 24″ W x 18″ H
Materials: Solid Cherry with Maple and Maple Veneer
Finish:Three Coats of Acrylic Lacquer

Photos by Allison Seeman.

This mirror is made with Swiss Pear, a dense, fine-grained wood (and one of my personal favorites to work), and is constructed with wedged, tenoned miters. The opposing sides of the mirror are resawn to accentuate the dark streaks running through the otherwise pinkish grain. The mirror shown is a full-length, wall-hung version. As with all my work, each mirror is made to order, and can therefore be made to any size to fit your particular setting.

Dimensions: 67″ T x 20″ W x 1.5″ D (Shown)
Materials: Swiss Pear with Sterling Silver
Finish: Carnauba Wax

Photos by Allison Seeman.

Simple. Elegant. Graceful. These are not words that are generally used to describe my friend Tom, who originally commissioned this table. They do, however, describe this coffee table, which features a bookmatched top, and twelve individually-shaped and polished wedged through-tenons.

Dimensions: 49″ L x 28″ W x 16″ H
Materials: Solid Black Cherry with Texas Ebony
Finish: Three Coats of Hand-Rubbed Oil, Three Coats of Paste Wax

Photos by Patrick Bertolino.

In keeping with the Arts-and-Crafts tradition, each decorative element also serves a functional purpose - the ebony pegs lock the tenons into place, the breadboard ends keep the top from warping, and the trestles provide strength.

The two trays are lined with leather, and are the perfect height for a laptop or (perhaps more importantly) a cup of coffee. The center tray is can store small personal items, yet is shallow enough to remain uncluttered.

Each drawer pull is shaped and polished by hand, then mortised and wedged into place. While simply screwing them onto the drawer face, mortising ensures that the pulls will remain secure after a lifetime of use.

Detail of the lower left side of the desk. Through-tenons are double-wedged into place, and ebony pegs pin the vertical elements in place. You can see how I make them here.

This desk features one drawer, two pullout trays, hand-carved drawer pulls, breadboard ends (to allow for seasonal wood movement), over fifty mortise-and-tenon joints, and sixty-four individually-shaped and polished Texas Ebony pegs. There is also plenty of leg room on both sides of the desk, making it perfect for those long meetings.

As with all my pieces, this desk can be made to perfectly suit the user. The height of the desktop, in particular, can be adjusted before construction to maximize both comfort and function.

Dimensions: 74″ L x 32″ W x 29″ H
Materials: Solid Black Cherry with Texas Ebony and Maple
Finish: Three Coats of Hand-Rubbed Oil, Three Coats of Paste Wax

Photos by Patrick Bertolino.

The clients needed a way to use their shower without stepping down into their tub, which was set flush with the floor. The solution was to construct a series of I-Beams with sliding dovetails. Since there are no nails or other metal fasteners, the grate will never rust or corrode.

This grate is actually a series of interconnected, wooden I-Beams which hang from the lip of the tub, creating a flush surface to stand on while showering. The grate can be removed from the tub and stacked easily for bathing. The combination of Ipe (pronounced EE-pey), a dense tropical wood often used as a teak substitute, and Spar Varnish, which is commonly used to finish boat decks, make this a very strong and very durable piece.

Dimensions: 32″ W x 4″ D x 62″ L (15.5″ / section)
Materials: Ipe
Finish: Four coats of Marine-Grade Spar Varnish
Price: Private Commission

The cabinet features four long set sets of hand-cut, mitered dovetails, and three separate storage compartments, and resawn and bookmatched sides.

A modern, minimalist take on the side table, this cabinet anchors into, but is set back from, the wall. The cabinet itself appears to float off the wall.

Dimensions: 62″ W x 17″ T x 14″ D
Materials:Solid Black Walnut
Finish:Hand-Rubbed Oil Finish with two coats of Natural Beeswax
Price:Private Commission

This small, one-of-a-kind bench is a playful take on a traditional Shaker bench design.

The two stretcher pieces are joined with half-blind dovetails. While I was working on this piece someone remarked that the reveal in the top of the bench looked like a mail slot. The next morning I came into the shop and found my mail (or more specifically, my bills) tucked gently into the "slot." Hence the name.

Both dovetail and mortise-and-tenon joints are cut by hand.

The stretcher connects to each side of the bench with three small through-tenons.

This small bench is my own take on a classic footstool design. It is constructed from maple and cherry, and features three sets of hand-cut, half-blind dovetails and two sets of angled through-tenons.

Dimensions: 24″ Long x 12″ Wide x 15″ Tall
Materials: Solid Cherry, Maple.
Finish: Hand-Rubbed Oil with three coats of Paste Wax

Photos by Allison Seeman.

This cabinet is the younger brother of "10 Small Boxes Huddling Together for Warmth." It is constructed from one large plank of black cherry, and features hand-cut dovetails, solid brass hinges, and applied beading for the finger-pulls.

Detail of the mitered, applied beading on the finger pull of the cabinet door.

Each hinge is carefully fitted to the piece before final installation. This requires careful preparation, as the mortises for the hinges must be laid out and cut before the cabinet itself is assembled. The hinges shown are solid brass, offset knife hinges. Although more difficult to install, they are both elegant and unobtrusive.

Each box starts as a solid "length" of cherry, which is carefully marked, cut, mitered, splined, and reassembled. This gives the grain a clean, "wraparound" effect.

Dimensions: 20″W x 26″H x 11″D
Materials:Solid Black Cherry
Finish:Hand-Rubbed Oil Finish with two coats of Natural Beeswax
Price:Private Commission

Honorable Mention: 2006 Texas Furniture Makers’ Show

Photos by Allison Seeman.