Hand made kitchen with Birch Ply cabinets, hand painted doors made and fitted by me, Granite worktops supplied and fitted by Hobbs, painting by customer.

The first thing (or perhaps that should be things) that first interested me in furniture and cabinet making were the tools, nice new good quality ones and old good quality vintage ones, the thing that has kept me interested in this craft is simply the wood itself, below are two pictures of two pieces of Poplar, this is what is known as a secondary wood, its normally used where you can`t see it, hidden frames, structural components and painted items, rarely is it used as a "show" timber and I'm not sure why, the grain colour can be quite amazing.

Display Cabinet with Poplar shelves, door frames and top, everything else in MDF

After being let down by someone else, the client contacted me to see if I could come up with something to cover up their fridge and freezer, they wanted something that looked like furniture but at the same time was not too prominent in the room.

A few pictures showing a bit of the making process.

A recent commision was a bedside cabinet, made in a similar style to the clients existing bedroom furniture which was probably Utility Furniture, old and very well made, my client wanted something similar and at a reasonable cost, the existing furniture was made out of veneered board, probably ply, I settled on solid Sapele throughout except for the door for which I cut veneers and booked matched them to tie in with the originals, the cost of solid sapele was comparative to vennered sheets which would have been wasteful.  

Refurbishment of a 1960s 1970s closed balustrade staircase, refitted with new newel posts, handrails and spindles.

A small job but one that needs to be done properly, the worn bullnose of the tread is cut away in a dovetail shape which holds the new wood in place, when glued this forms a strong joint, screws are added but are not really necessary.

Painted wardrobes with solid Oak internal drawer unit, cabinets made in MDF, doors in Tulip wood with mdf  panels.  Painting by Steve Dibben, painter and decorator, Glastonbury. 

Its been a busy time in my little workshop, more table leg frames for Mr van den Bosch, another Bubinga coffee table; a recently married couple commissioned it as a wedding present to themselves and finally a pair of table/display stands made using the left over wood from the other two jobs, they are currently on display at the Court House Gallery, Somerton, which is also hosting its annual furniture prize on the 16th July.

Recently completed kitchen refurbishment, new Ash worktops, new oven, sink and tap with two new purpose made cabinets either side of the oven and existing pine cabinets painted with Farrow & Ball paint, MDF  V grooved wall panels and new stainless steel splashback.
Pictures, before on the left, after on the right.