When Building Custom Furniture, It's All In The Details.

A local designer recently brought us a photograph of a Georgian style demi-lunecommode that needed to be adapted both in size and function to fit a small powder room in one of the great older homes in the Seattle area. It was not possible to modify this existing cabinet, so we constructed a new version that met the requirements of the space, was faithful to the style of the original, and utilized veneers that were compatible with the surrounding furnishings.

To construct the curved front of the new piece, a form was constructed and all of the parts were pressed over this form in our vacuum press. The back, top and bottom formed a skeleton on which the curved panels and legs were attached. Pieces of veneer were stitched and taped together and pressed in the pattern required for each separate panel. These were then pressed onto the curved parts, trimmed and edged. The completed piece was finished with a furniture grade lacquer and fitted with a stone top, sink and faucets. We enjoyed the challenges that this piece presented and it gave us an opportunity to show off our abilities in producing a more complex piece of furniture.

[gallery link="file" columns="4"]

Building FSC Cabinets for LEED Certified Homes

We build  environmentally friendly FSC certified custom cabinets of the highest quality

Warmington and North Co. was engaged to construct cabinetry for a new LEED certified home in Seattle where the  clients were committed to utilizing environmentally friendly components that would meet LEED standards for certification.  We are dedicated to the producing environmentally friendly cabinets and enjoy working on projects that try to mitigate their footprint on the environment.  The kitchen featured a recycling center, new energy efficient appliances and lots of natural light.  A large walk in pantry, floor to ceiling display cabinets as well as cabinetry for the bathrooms and laundry were included; all cabinets were constructed from FSC certified woods that were sourced locally from forests that are responsibly managed. We sought out materials that were for the most part locally produced and followed LEED requirements to meet their standards.

This project was recently recognized by Builtgreen.net as a 5 Star Home

The Lakeshore residence is a 5-Star custom single-family home designed by Stuart Silk Architects. The home is modeled to perform 45 percent better than a home built to the current Washington State Energy Code through the use of a super-tight envelope, a rooftop solar hot-water system and a heat recovery ventilator, among numerous other energy efficient features. To reduce runoff, the home features a 2,800-gallon cistern for rainwater collection, which will be used inside the home and for landscaping. To conserve water, landscaping was completed using native, drought-tolerant plants. Also, dual flush toilets were installed. The residence is heated through a hydronic system with a 95-percent efficient boiler and was designed for a chimney effect for natural ventilation and heat distribution.

http://www.builtgreen.net/news/news_nov10.html

Contact us if you are interested in using us for green friendly  custom cabinets LEED Certified project

Media Attention For Project In Highlands

A home we worked on closely with general contractor Schultz Miller has received media attention in the Seattle Times.  For a this custom cabinet project, we were responsible for building cabinetry in multiple rooms that was designed to blend in seamlessly with the existing architecture of the house.

Allen Shoup has long earned his living by having a refined palate. Whether it's for wine (as founder of Long Shadows Vintners and former CEO of Stimson Lane Wineries and Estates, owners of Chateau Ste. Michelle and Columbia Crest) or fragrance (he's created 20 or so for Amway and Max Factor). Shoup is quick to tell you that most of the cost of a bottle of perfume is due to the packaging. Design matters.

"Everything's eclectic," Shoup says. "Even as a child I was interested in interior design. I grew up in a house with early-American furniture, the bad kind. And my wife has lived with me long enough she's picked up the bug. We have an informal agreement not to buy something unless we both agree on it."

The approach works. The home is grand yet cozy, elegant yet comfortable. And the Shoups have been happily married for 30 years. This is a place for the kids to come home to and bring their kids.

"I think everyone should spend some time nurturing their appreciation of aesthetics," Shoup says. "And a lot of my male friends find that tedious."

The aesthetics take many forms at the Shoup home. Glass, paintings and sculptures among the rugs, chairs and sofas. Built-in cabinets hold antique toys and mechanical banks. Each collected with the enthusiasm of a 10-year-old with a rookie Ken Griffey Jr. baseball card.

Oh, and there's the wine. "When we added on, the excuse was that we needed a wine cellar," he says. "We had to put in retaining walls, and that held down the size of the cellar. But I didn't need it bigger. I had a winery. And we did most of the entertaining there."

But there are a lot of keepers here. You can tell by the dust. A signed Robert Mondavi (Shoup's mentor) from his first vintage, 1966, another signed (by both Ernest and Julio) 1978 Gallo cabernet, an '84 Columbia Crest cab, a Thurston Wolfe Sangiovese, 2002 Villa Mt. Eden, bottles from the Mouton Rothschild artist series.

The Shoups don't take their home lightly. Because this is their only home.

"I have so many friends who have second houses," Shoup says. "And you hear about the pipes breaking and things needing fixing. Those are time traps.

"There are still too many places in the world we want to see.

"But the best compliment we get about our house is that, despite the size of the house and the amount of breakable stuff in it, it feels very comfortable."

Seattle Times

Enhancing your Kitchen Cabinets With Organizational Hardware

Inside our custom kitchen cabinets, we we use organizational hardware accessories to make sure your get the most out of your new kitchen

At Warmington and North, not only do we help design and build beautiful custom kitchen cabinets, but we can also utilize the latest technology in kitchen organizational systems to make the spaces we design highly functional. The organizational hardware accessories that we build into our cabinets feature state of the art technology to maximize durability and increase ease of use.  These systems that we build into our kitchens provide worry free functionality and ease of use for years after installation.

Kitchen hardware and accessories that we can include in your new kitchen:

• pull out pantry's
• pull out shelves
• pantry's attached to door frames
• base cabinet pull outs
• blind corner pullouts
• base corner pullouts
• spice racks
• kitchen backspash storage systems
• lazy suzans
• under sink caddy pullouts
• power actuated doors and drawers
• trash/recycle pullouts

We work with you to include accessories that are relevant to your kitchen and lifestyle.  We  know that everyone has different needs and considerations that must be taken into account in order to make the sure the kitchen is both functional and beautiful.  The same high quality soft close hardware that is used on our cabinet drawer slides  can also be found on trash/recycle units and pullout shelves.  Other types of organizational hardware including pantry pullouts are built out of high quality materials and offer smooth action even when loaded with heavy items.

Blind corner pullouts:

Pantry Pullouts:

Most of the organizational hardware that we use in our kitchen cabinets comes from Hafele, a supplier of well built furniture hardware and architectural fittings.  Hardware is available in a variety materials and finishes so they will be appropriate in both contemporary and traditional cabinets.

Furniture Building - Reconstucting the Missing Chair

A recent project that we undertook for a local designer was building a replica of an existing mahogany chair. The client needed a chair to exactly match a set of five existing chairs.  He also wanted us to change the finish of the original furniture set from their dark and worn appearance to a brighter, fresher look.

One of the original chairs was accurately measured and templates of the individual pieces were made. We milled the parts for the new chair out of mahogany lumber.  Great care was taken to ensure the details in the original chair were reproduced exactly. The new chair was constructed using traditional joinery methods to ensure that it would be as sturdy as the originals.

The finishing process required us to strip the old finish off of the original chairs.  Then all six chairs were bleached in order for the wood to give up its color. The original chairs were bleached more than once because of their age and the previous dark stain.  After the color of all of the chairs was uniform, we stained the chairs using both a water based stain and an oil based stain followed by a light shading where a small amount of color was added to the lacquer.  After the finishing process was complete, the appearance of the chairs was uniform, both in their shape and finish.  They were then sent out to an upholster who added a pale green leather for the seats and backs.

[gallery link="file"]