Driftwood Inspired Sofa Table

Our family does a lot of traveling, hiking, biking, kayaking, beaching (is beaching a word?) and the like. So a few years back we were walking this beach and I found this really cool piece of driftwood.  It was kind of like a bar of soap, it was oval-ish, it was smooth, but had a texture to it.  I walked around the rest of the hike with it in my hand and when I got back to the car I tossed it into the car door pocket where I toss my cool finds.  

Now I didn’t really think about it for a couple years, saw it from time to time when I was cleaning out the door pockets (annually to bi-annually).  Fast forward and I’m in The Hardwood Connection in Sycamore, IL and there it is, the big daddy of my driftwood, a large slab size piece of White Ash.  Well of course, put it in the truck, don’t even bother wrapping it.  Ash was perfect because as you sand it the dark part of the grain seems to be softer than the rest and so the sanding created the smooth yet ‘driftwood’ texture surface.

Well I get home and go to get my driftwood from the door pocket and its gone.  Now I know I would not have gotten rid of it, so where is it.  I look, sleep a few nights, I look some more, can’t find it...

So from memory I start working the Ash slab trying to remember everything about the driftwood piece from the day I found it.   I decided I wanted to make a floating top table and wanted to use a contrasting/complementary wood variety for the base.  I sketched up an idea and decided to try a wood I had not used before for the base (Jatoba (some call it Brazilian Cherry)).  Jatoba has a very rich tone and contrasts the Ash top perfectly. 

So here is the table.

And as it turns out I found the inspiration driftwood piece half way thru the project.  

This table is currently for sale at Eyrieatomy.

Expanse Picture Frames

We have been busy at work and are finally coming out of our winter hibernation.  We know what you are thinking, just leaving hibernation in May!  Well anyway, we are pleased to announce a new product, our ExpanseÔ  picture frames. 

The ExpanseÔ  frames are in contrast to a traditional frame where the subject is constrained by the frame.  The ExpanseÔ  frames free the image(s) from being closed in and allows the subject and the frame to stand alone and yet together in a complimentary way.   In addition the ExpanseÔ  frames have more depth and texture that a traditional flat frame and allow the wall color to blend into the overall presentation.  The frame members all have different depths, shapes, symmetries, sizes and compilations, and materials.  These combinations are almost limitless and we are working on new versions all of the time.  This is a little hard to explain in words so scroll down and take a look and let us know what you think.  

We favor untraditional picture size (ie 4x10, 10x20, 8x24, etc) proportions for some of our frames.  In these frames we offer our stock photos but also intend to provide a coupon where we will get your photo sized and printed for the frame (should you be interested in having your own image).

We are busy building stock for our summer show season and for our website www.eyrieatomy.com.  We also are interested in building iterations/variations of our designs using your ideas so give us a call and we would love to get it built for you.