Everybody loves “before and after” photos so we thought we would share a few of our kitchen. 7487 had a very overall “grey” look and feel when we first moved in. Grey tile, grey paint, grey stained curtains. Within hours of moving in, we ripped out the tile and cabinets. We wanted to stay with the mid-century esthetic the house was meant to have, but with modern convenience. The layout of the original kitchen wasn’t  bad so as we re-built, we kept the plumbing and appliances pretty much where they were originally. The simplest way to save money. We took this room down to the studs so we could do a bit of plumbing work in the walls with copper pipe in preparation of the day that our 1960 galvanized pipes decide to blow.TK put up new drywall, built the cabinets of euro-ply with formica countertops and ran gas, which already existed in the house, to the cooking area. Even with keeping the original configuration, we were able to maximize storage and countertop space in the re-build. We have been really happy with the results and the finish on the cabinets becomes even more beautiful over time as the finish deepens in color with age.

Over the years, we have replaced so many doormats that we lost count. When we moved into a house with double doors, it was an even bigger challenge to find something that looked appropriate, that might last for more than one summer. TK came up with what we call the Lifetime Doormat. Made of rectangular steel tubing that has been sliced into 3/4″ pieces and welded together, we will never shop for a doormat again! This mat does it’s job perfectly no matter what time of year. It’s great for stomping sand off your shoes throughout the year, gets the snow off in the winter and in the rare occasion that we have rain, is great to scrape the mud off before entering the house.  It is heavy so instead of shaking it off like you would a normal mat, it catches the debris in between each steel ring and you just run the shop vac over it once in a while to clean it up. It could be inset into concrete or wood decking for a smooth finish. Our Lifetime Doormat can be made any size to accommodate a double or single door entry.

When we were remodeling our first house, we decided to go all the way in the living room and get rid of one of the biggest eyesores in most homes, the big boxy television. (back in 2003 anyway) Our house was small and there was only one wall that would work to hang our new flat screen TV. Problem was, that when you walked in the front door, we didn’t want the first thing you see to be the side of it. TK came up with a solution by making a narrow screen that added interest to the room and blocked the side view of our new toy.

The rails are made of 1″ square tubing, the cross rods are 5/16″ steel rod spaced at 6″ apart, the woven wood came from an 1/8″ door skin that he had left over from a previous project, and there are threaded feet at the top and bottom to help lock it into place. He cut the door skin into 1 3/4″ strips, powder coated the frame and once put together, we had a stylish, economical solution to our problem.

The photo above and the first one below, are of the screen in it’s original location. The other photos are of it in our current home where we placed the screen to give a bit of separation in our open entrance/ living/dining area’s. The close up photo, which was taken by Morgan Satterfield of The Brick House when she came for a visit, shows the simple design, and the other photos I took on a snowy day in the desert. Even if you are a novice welder, you could try this project yourself, or if not, TK can create one for you in any size. Please contact us with questions.

We have posted a number of photos of this outdoor kitchen/sink cabinet while it was being fabricated and installed for artist Andrea Zittel. TK recently completed the project. Made of 14 gauge hot rolled steel with a poured concrete countertop, it’s built to stand up to the extreme desert weather. The steel will rust over time and look even better with age.

A few of the projects that TK is currently working on. The bathroom closet is ready for the finish that we talked about in the last post, and the bar stools are headed to a bar in the Arts District of Santa Ana, California. More to come in the future on both projects.

TK’s getting ready to start a new bathroom project. Here is the final color sample the client chose for a vanity and storage wall. They also decided on the routed handle in the first photo below for the bathroom. The wood is red lacquered oak and the grain is filled with a contrasting color. The metal handle in the center below is for a future project.  We will post complete photos when this project is complete.

TK is sooo close to finishing the roadster pickup that he has been building in his free time for more than ten years.We picked the car up from the upholsterer this morning. Mike Peterson of Peterson Upholstery executed a beautiful chocolate brown 2″ tuck n roll on the interior sides, back and seat cushions. We were so inspired on the way home that we stopped in at the Frank Lloyd Wright and Lloyd Wright designed Joshua Tree Retreat center to snap some photos.

It’s Memorial Day weekend so everyone’s attention turns outside. We wanted to share some various projects that TK has fabricated  to help people enjoy their outdoor space. Some are in  the middle of being installed now and some have been completed for some time.

Speaking of fabrication, TK and I have been fans of Morgan over at The Brick House for a while now and we had the pleasure of hosting she and the boy for a day of fun and welding in the high desert. TK was blown away by what a natural born welder she was! I know we are going to see some amazing steel objects showing up in the yard of The Brick House soon.

TK made these steps for his Roadster Pickup that he has been building for many years. These are one of the final few details. He made the brackets from 1/2″ steel and foundry pattern of MDF with lettering cut out of acrylic. Last weekend, TK was able to start up the roaster for the first time! It’s been a long time coming but this project is almost complete. See a history of the build .

In my very first post, I said that once in a while I’d talk about  cars, guitars and other hobbies besides furniture. If it weren’t for these two, I’d probably get a lot more accomplished in the shop. They are always in their stands, somewhere close by. I find them almost impossible to walk by  without one of them stealing some of my time. They’re both partscasters, assembled from various old and new guitar parts. Here’s a rundown of what each is made up of.

The Bigsby Telecaster: Body by Fender/”51″ Nocaster, Neck by Fred Stuart, Vibrato by Bigsby/B-16, Vibrato arm by TK Smith, Bridge by Bigsby, Pick-guard inlay by TK Smith, Walnut armrest by TK Smith, Rear pickup by Fred Stuart “Blackguard Tele”, Front pickup by Virtual Vintage “PA 1946“.

The Telecaster: Pine body by Brian Poe, Lacquer by TK Smith, Esquire neck by CW Fleming/Fender custom shop, Early Fender ashtray cover, Rear pickup by Fender 1953, Front pickup by Fred Stuart, Knobs are 1955 Fender. Both guitars have Thomastik-Infeld flat wound strings, .013-.053