It was all hands on deck with this project done at a private residence in Tuckers Town. There are not many times all our divisions work together for one project or client but we had the unique opportunity over 2014 to do just that.
Our quality work and reputation brought the owners, and their architects OBMI, to us early in the project, first for to provide custom shutters and then furniture. Once we started we had the chance to work with everybody involved, the contractors, architects, designers, clients, even the masons and other subcontractors to make everything happen.
Furniture:
There were a number of pieces we ended up doing for the clients. Some mahogany side tables in the master bedroom, a mahogany bench for the entrance, a mahogany media cabinet for the theater, an oak driftwood sofa table in the living room, as well as the Bermuda cedar, mahogany, and birch side tables in the cottages.
The furniture designs came from pieces that were found in other catalogues or collections. The clients and designers would send a few images of the original pieces, finishes and some drawings. We would fill in some elements to make things more Bermudian or authentic in design versus the standard piece in the initial images.
They even got a few antiques from us including a cedar sideboard, Windsor chairs, and our turned cedar standing lamps and desk lamps.
T-Made Custom Carpentry:
Initially contracted to provide shutters for the house we quickly were contracted to also create the solid mahogany outdoor cabinets and decking to complete an outdoor living area.
Working with architect Colin Campbell from OBMI we had the unique opportunity to fabricate his innovative design for shutters.
This followed with a specification that when the top shutter is open the slats are to be level. This allowed the bottom sash to be completely clear to look out or if they are tall and have to look out of the top sash they can look straight through the louvers. This is easy to say but we spent a lot of time sourcing the right hardware that was marine grade and was strong enough to withstand the crosswinds of the property.
The decking was tricky as the original design called for concrete slab stepping stones throughout the grass area by the pool and into the deck. However, the deck also had to be low lying and at the height of the pool and grass. We went straight to ipe deck boards for its durability and weathering effect and Accoya as structural timber for its ability to last below grade.
We used all stainless steel fasteners to lay the Accoya sub frame and then used a hidden deck fastener and pre-grooved ipe decking above the Accoya. There were four large radius stepping stones as well as the back end of the structure that also had to be templated and routed into the deck. Later however, there was a design change that required the deck to be pulled up and relayed without the stepping stones. We had a lot of fun because of the different challenges this project gave us.
Bells & Whistles:
Certain types of wood and finishes were all chosen for some reason or another. The media cabinet in the theater had to match the mahogany theater seating. As well the sofa table in the living room is oak because the grain is very porous which helps when you do a driftwood faux finish. It allows you to accent the grain with the different glazes and build up coats it takes in that faux finish.
The designers also wanted hints of cedar around the property to help authenticate the new Bermuda home. Throughout the project there was always a necessity to use traditional Bermuda elements.
Everything was fabricated in the shop and either delivered to site or installed by us on site. The deck is the only site construction but all its components were pre-milled to length at the shop before going to site to be laid out.
After four months working with the client we were happy with the finished cabinets, shutters and decking and please that they continued using us for various furniture pieces. Still bringing us new projects today, such as a custom day bed, we are pleased with how each individual piece works in the house. We loved putting a stamp from each our divisions somewhere in that house, making it one of our favorites in 2014.