MW Design Workshop

Jan 2015

For this exceptional project we worked very closely with Aaron Stewart Home to bring the concept into reality. The primary style statements of this kitchen is the use of blackened stainless as the face of all the cabinet drawers and door fronts, as well as the large Western Walnut slab top used for the island. Every drawer, door, and panel that received the blackened stainless finish was painstakingly crafted in 7 steps. Each component was hand-rubbed for a totally unique color and texture. We used minimal C-Channel and laser-cut plates for all the door and drawer pulls, which also were hand-finished. Other details include integrated LED lighting inside the cabinet boxes, a custom made hood vent cover also in Blackened stainless, and the blackened stainelss support leg for the island slab. For the Island, we used two matched slabs of Western Walnut. We edge-joined the slabs using a curved edge joint, with several butterfly splines adding mechanical strength, and more beauty. The resulting table is 8' long and 5' wide, notched around the marble waterfall of the cook-top. After crafting and assembling the kitchen in our-shop true to dimension, we then disassembled every piece and broke it down into 6 custom crates to ship to the final destination: San Juan, Puerto Rico.

$90k

Portland, OR

Jul 2015

A modern, three-story staircase in blackened steel and warm, western maple. We built this stair for "Joie de Vivre", a home built by Brian Schmidt Builder for the 2015 NW Natural Street of Dreams. The stair capitalizes on a strong modern industrial aesthetic: letting the natural beauty of the materials shine. All the handrail and treads are in western maple, handmade in our shop alongside the heavy steel structural components. Because of the unique time constraints of this home, all the components of the stair were designed, fabricated, and finished off-site. Through planning and coordination, we were able to come into the home and have the stair completely installed in under a month.

Lake Oswego, OR

Oct 2014

For this staircase we wanted to bring together the warmth of wood with the raw texture of blackened steel. Notable items include C-channel stringers, horizontal steel balustrade, and a solid 2 steel central post anchoring the upper and lower flights to the landing. The treads and landing are solid 3 sapele, stained and finished to match the casework in the rest of the home. The clean lines of the design keep with the modern architecture of the home, while the blackened finish of the steel sets the stair apart as its own structure.

Salem, OR

May 2014

A custom shop-built staircase we made for a fine home built by Otis Construction in Portland, Or. We utilized old-world housed-and-wedged construction to build the stair itself as a piece of installed furniture. The walnut treads and handrail cap were custom made for this staircase as well, featuring a unique one-of-a-kind profile for the rail. The balustrade was also fabricated-in-house out of steel and hand painted on-site.

Portland, OR

Oct 2010

The staircase for the 360 house was an exercise in precision and planning. Designed by Boora Architects, and built by Green Gables Design and Restoration. We worked closely with the architect, builder, and other craftsmen on the project. The main piece of our work is a free-standing staircase in wood and steel with completely invisible fasteners. We collaborated heavily with Brian Creany of Flux Design to align the steel sub-structure perfectly to the wood components. The balustrade is FSC-certified Italian veneers topped with American rift-sawn white oak handrails CNC milled to a custom profile. The treads and risers were also in American rift-sawn white oak with no visible fasteners. We also sourced a huge slab in rift-sawn American White oak for a bench alongside the stair opening in the living room. The stair and benchtop feature a water-based eco-friendly clear coat.

Arch Cape, OR

Dec 2006

A unique project, where we did the cabinets, stair, and several miscellaneous pieces for a custom home in Portland designed by Tom Kundig of Olson Kundig and built by Green Gables Design and Restoration. One of the highlights of the home is the mill-finish steel island in the kitchen. The result of collaboration between several different artisans and craftsmen; we had to ensure that our work corresponded to that of the other trades. The casework is mostly rift white oak, finished in a dark, rich stain. A unique design choice was the use of clear-coated MDF for the drawer fronts and doors in the basement laundry room.

Portland, OR