Dining Room Commission Project

[McRabbet]

I have been very busy this Spring with a significant commissioned project; a set of built-in cabinets for a dining room. The room has a large four foot by six foot bay window centered on the ten foot wide end wall. The client wanted storage for her china and serving pieces, flatware, place mats and table cloths, and wine. Her husband wanted to have his computer workstation incorporated as well. After design discussions, here is the final SketchUp design: (Click on thumbnails for full picture).
The base cabinet at the left was to have large serving piece storage, including room for a 29-inch long silver serving tray. The center four cabinets have storage for the table cloths and mats, flatware, wine and adjustable shelves for china and smaller serving pieces. The right side cabinet is for the computer workstation and a pair of diagonal wall cabinets hung on French Cleats with glass doors and interior lighting are for stemware and display bric-a-brac. A shelf atop the window frame and wall cabinets will provide additional display space.
I won't bore you with the construction details (there are some pictures in my Gallery), but the project is built in White Oak Plywood and solid wood, has 8 raised panel doors and two false raised panels; eleven full extension drawers ranging from 12" deep to 30" deep; and eight 4-lite glass doors with full mullions separating the 32 panes. Four cabinet lights illuminate the interior of each wall cabinet as well as the base tops below them with 3-position dimmers; dimmable spots illuminate the Bay from below the overhead shelf. The finish matches the Golden Oak of the Bay window trim using 2 coats of Seal-A-Cell and 3 coats of Arm-R-Seal.

Here are pictures of the finished product (top shelf to be installed later).

Cabinets with doors closed.
Cabinets with doors open.
Closer view of center left cabinets -- six drawers and room for 12 bottles of wine, including a "starter" bottle of Merlot I left for the client. Note the lateral drawer in the upper left of the picture in the left base cabinet; there is one in each of the taller cabinets.
Right hand base cabinet Computer Workstation in closed position. Black disks on left end of top control the dimmers for this wall cabinet and bay window spots.
Top in folded back position -- nine 14 mm Soss barrel hinges invisibly connect the three sections of the top. The LCD monitor can be seen in its fold down position through the opening.
LCD Monitor is on a sliding base in stopped dadoes in the sides of the cabinet; it pulls forward and hinges into an upright position. Keyboard tray pulls out and the system is ready for use.

Lots of hours in this baby, but it came out pretty well!

[MikeH]

That turned out beautiful! Great job.

[bman]

that looks great man ....i hope you made some $$$$ looks like a lot of hrs in that project

[Splinter]

That looks like a well executed plan. Beautiful work. Looks like a lot of planning went into it.

[dancam]

Hey Rob,

You've outdone yourself this time. A truly outstanding job of design, execution and installation. I bet you've got a super happy customer on your hands. Congratulations, and now enjoy your trip to upstate NY.

Dan C.

[DavidF]

Whoa! Rob, well done, what a lot of work; looks great. Was that colour just achieved with the seal-a cell and arm-a-cell or did you add any colour tint? That's exactely the colour I want for the dining table.

[sapwood]

8-O8-O8-O Overwhelming Rob

Roger

[cpowell]

Wow!!! That's a very well done finished product.

I don't know how many hours you had in it but it looks like a 3 month project to me. Generally my three month project estimates take 6 months actual time to complete. :lol: :lol:

The lower section is practical (and beautiful) and the upper section turns it all into a showpiece.

How did you apply the poly (arm-r-seal)?

Chuck

[Greybeard]

Rob, You have created an outstanding piece of work. It is a beautiful design. Great work!

[McRabbet]

Whoa! Rob, well done, what a lot of work; looks great. Was that colour just achieved with the seal-a cell and arm-a-cell or did you add any colour tint? That's exactely the colour I want for the dining table.

David, No tint was added to either the Seal-A-Cell or the Arm-R-Seal. I've used this combination on White Oak before and it produces a nice soft golden color -- I recommend sanding the second finishing coat with 320 grit before applying the finish coat. I use the Satin version.

Wow!!! That's a very well done finished product.

I don't know how many hours you had in it but it looks like a 3 month project to me. Generally my three month project estimates take 6 months actual time to complete. :lol: :lol:

The lower section is practical (and beautiful) and the upper section turns it all into a showpiece.

How did you apply the poly (arm-r-seal)?

Chuck

Chuck, these two finishes are made by General Finishes and are applied with a lint-free rag (an old tee shirt works great).

There are about 300 hours in this project; I had estimated about 200 so my hourly rate took a hit! But I'd rather have the work come out looking right than meeting an estimated deadline -- fortunately, the customer is in agreement!

And here is the most interesting part: the customer has not seen it yet either and won't until the 4th of July when they return from their vacation!

[cskipper]

That turned out really well - I'm sure they will love it!!

[stoneskippers]

Great job Rob. I can see that off the sidewalks for awhile.

[skeeter]

Another great looking project, Rob! Design is a great conbination of function and beauty. Totally amazing workmanship!!

[Travis Porter]

Nice work Rob! Aren't you supposed to be retired? You seem to be going full time, not that there is anything wrong with that.

It is definitely a complex and elaborate project.

[PurpleThumb]

Super job, Rob!!!