While we have been farming, my friend the cabinet maker has been building the shelves/ cabinets for the Coupe. The Coupe is a Tiny House being built adjoining our Home. Our Johns Mother will live there when she is ready to retire. Until then it will be a divine little guest house. 
Everything is finished except for the dividing wall between the bedroom area and the kitchenette. This is to be a handmade wall unit. The ceiling is 16 foot high at the peak and it will reach right up there. So it is a very high value piece of work.W This floor-to-ceiling wall unit turns the Coupe from a room into a home. Once it is in place my whole design makes sense. It is central to the whole idea. The cabinet fits from the pole ( screen right) straight across to the line (left) where the blue meets the red, and reaches right up past the loft floor to the pitched ceiling.
Next time you see this point of View, it will be a wall of shelves and cubby holes and little doors, creating a bedroom on one side and a small kitchenette on the other There will be access to the cabinet from both side. And the little kitchen bench, which will be right there below the window, runs across and around and joins the wall unit creating the kitchenette.
I visited the cabinet maker in his workshop yesterday. We have broken as many rules as we could think of, using deliciously knotted gnarly wood, seconds, live edges. Off cuts. Combining four different woods in one space. Making stuff up as we go along. The Walnut and Ash timber was found in the yard of a man who is paid by people, who do not know any better, to chop down their trees. He mills the trees, seasons the planks and sells them. Which is wonderful. Most companies who chop down trees just chip them.
Tiger Wood and Walnut for the shelves and cabinets, Blue Ash for the counters in the kitchenette and second grade White Oak on the floor.
This wall unit will create a lot of storage space in The Coupe. The honey will find a home. The curing soap. The Linen and the books. Oh The Books! And then all the bits and pieces that The Matriarch brings with her when she finally moves in. Though that will not be for a few years yet. She says. Her nephew says “What are you waiting for!”
It is impossible to see in its entirety, so you will just have to come and visit. Jeff (the cabinet maker) has added his own voice to my designs, introducing beautiful features and allowing the timber to develop a life and voice of its own. He is a craftsman.
Yesterday was so warm thatI sent the afternoon working in the barn re-organising the waters and a few walls (to stop drafts). Scooping. Cleaning. Getting ready for the next cold snap. It was just wonderful.
Plus we have started work on the little glass house. More on that tomorrow. For now I am so happy to show you more of the lovely wood-work in the workshop.
And as well as that Jeff is part of the Fellowship of the Farmy. (One of the silent ones!) Have a lovely day.
your friend on the farmy
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
69 responses to “Breaking all the Rules of Carpentry”
Lovely that all the beauty of that wood is allowed to show itself. Well done.
Lovely wood!
I love wood and it all looks beautiful…..but…..when you have talked of the Coupe before I thought that you were tslking about a new chook house..not a residence for John, s Mom..big mistake as I don, t think that she would enjoy roosting with the chooks
what beautiful wood. The guest house will be so enriched by it. I haven’t forgotten my idea of being in residence and helping with labour on the farmy!
I have not forgotton either! I think it is a wonderful idea, now all we have to do is get ViV better and she can make the cakes! c
Oh, beautiful! I love the imperfections, the grains, the live edges, the wonky and the straight. It’s going to be a masterpiece of beauty and functionality together. The Matriarch will settle into her nest and never leave…
Stunning – can I pop round and run my hands all over the wood please?!
A women with vision extrodinair meets a craftsman with brilliant talent. The results are stunning.
Oh my goodness, I also want to run my hands all over it…and sniff it all up!
SO beautiful.
Ahhh!
Those beautiful knarled knots are a treasure.
I love beautiful wood grains and colours.
Gorgeous! I am on my way! Will Sheila share her blankets?
Sheila will rip you up a nice piece just for you.. !
Very nice. I love that the cabinets are accessible from both sides. Hmmm. Maybe some new thoughts for my kitchen! Have a great day, Celi!
Beautiful. My dad was a wood worker in his spare time and I grow up helping him. I have a love of natural wood.
Jock is in full approval of this kind of upcycling, and green with envy at the project. He is a man who is nuts about working with wood, hence all the furniture in the house. He says would you like a chain he carved which was wired as a lamp which hung from the roof over our stairwell. It is two and a half metres long, made from a young beech tree which fell during the hurricane of Christmas 1999 in the grounds of a local chateau where I did the accounts for the Americaln owners. Jock asked the forrester what he was going to do with it, and was told “burn it – you can have it if you want.” A bit like asking Sheila is she would like some food. The chain was made entirely by hand, from one single piece of wood. He’s pulling the wire out so that thei t can be coiled or folded for transport. I will make some enquiries as to the cost of transport. It would hang from the Coupe’s roof tree, bringing light to the right height for part of the Coupe.I’ll send you some photos.
Oh My Goodness Viv, you have no idea how exciting this is. There is a space right above the little table that i have left unlit. I keep saying, the right light will come along, i have not found it yet.. and here you are offering us the answer, a hand carved chain, I can buy a very simple lampshade allowing the chain to glow.. how extraordinary. it will hang in the most prominent position, lit by the middle window of the Goldilocks windows.so the chain itself will have great artistic value in the room. what an extraordinary gift.. This time you must allow us to pay for the shipping, That is over 8 foot of wooden chain Viv, it will be so dramatic in there.. thank you .. really thank you..
It’s exciting to us to find a place for it. I’ve sent you pictures and Jock is now fiddling with a wine a box for it. We’ll go into transport next week, probably TNT
Well let me know, so I can send a cheque, it will not be cheap and worth every penny of transport .. Here is John back from the workshop – i cannot wait to tell him! Of course my dream is that one day you are well enough to bring Jock over and stay a while.. c
WOW! This is going to be exciting and wonderful! Blog friends are just the best. I can hardly wait to see the end result!
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
¸.•*¨*•♪♫♫♪HAPPY NEW YEAR ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥
It has left our local Post Office. I pray that the container they gave me is strong enough and that it reaches you safely. Sally used up best part of a reel of sticky tape, having ruined lots by dropping it on the floor. The price was tiny, so no need to bother.
I told Jeff our wood worker this morning and his eyes lit up! he is going to help me install it.. What a treasure you two are and thank Sally too.. c
All of the above! Such eye candy for wood lovers. Knowing that you are using cast-offs make it even better.True house art…