A Craftsman's Notes

The Marvelous Blog

12 Aug 2016
Architectural Details, Wainscoting Permalink
Adding Wainscoting | Hallway

Adding Wainscoting to Your Home

August 12, 2016

 

Many homeowners are looking for ways to update and personalize their homes, searching through dozens of catalogs and sites for the perfect solution. However, making your space more interesting may be as simple as layering wood on your walls. An elegant option that packs a lot of visual power is adding wainscoting: wooden paneling or trim installed over the lower part of a wall. Visually, it divides a room in two, creating an upper and lower level in an architectural scheme. Wainscoting can be designed in any way, but much of the design depends on the walls and architectural style of the home. To achieve a look that works well with your style, hiring a woodworking professional who can help you make design decisions will help ensure you love the outcome.

Adding Wainscoting | Bathroom Remodel

Adding Wainscoting | Bathroom Remodel

In a bathroom remodel, we decided to install wainscoting as a more cost-effective way to refurbish a torn up wall. There had been outdated tile layered over half the wall—by tearing it out, the wall was left scarred and ugly. However, the usual repair option would be to take out the wall entirely and add a new drywall. This process would have been costly and messy, not to mention requiring quite a bit of manpower; adding wainscoting was a stylish, simple alternative, and less expensive.

Adding Wainscoting | Dining Room

Adding Wainscoting | Dining Room

The owner of this dining room wanted to create a more formal atmosphere. With a minimalist approach we created the illusion of wainscoting, painting the lower wall a different color and framing it with custom trim that matched the home’s style. This type of square wainscoting takes a woodworking professional with good math skills to build such an evenly spaced design. To create consistently-sized frames can be tricky.  If the math isn’t done right, the design might have to be squeezed or added onto, leaving you with an awkward skinny frame at the end of your wall. Lopsided wainscoting is not a joy to behold.

The great thing about wainscoting is that it adds a big bang without a lot of fuss. This staircase and plain-looking hallway now have an impressive visual impact when you first walk in the door. High wainscoting like the above is becoming very trendy in modern homes, though the idea is centuries old. Tall wainscoting works well in houses with tall features; this home had nine foot ceilings and an overall grand look.

Adding Wainscoting | Hallway

 

Wainscoting’s relatively simple, less expensive process gives such a pay-off in lasting visual impact. All around, wainscoting is a fabulous way to spice up any area that lacks interest. We at Marvelous Woodworking have had plenty of experience with designing custom wainscoting that perfectly fits our clients’ rooms and gives them the architectural elegance they were looking for. To schedule a free consultation, send us an email or call us at (317) 679-5890.

20 Jul 2016
Historic Restorations Permalink
Historic Renovation for the Benjamin Harrison House

Historic Restoration at the Benjamin Harrison House

July 20, 2016

As custom woodworkers, we are called onto many jobs that require our quality craftsmanship and problem-solving skills to create pieces for our clients that stores and catalogs can’t. One of our specialties is historic restoration. We can study an old home with a style long since passed and replicate it, repairing existing furniture or architectural details to their former glory, or making new pieces that match the home’s original style. We had the opportunity to work in one of Indianapolis’ own historic home sites, the Benjamin Harrison House.

A Bit of History

Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd president of the United States, from 1889 to 1893. Before his presidency Harrison was an attorney, and in 1868 he purchased a lot on Delaware Street in what is now the Old Northside Historic District of Indianapolis. In 1874, he and his wife Caroline began construction of their 16-room Italianate style house. It was home to the Harrison family until President Harrison died there on March 13, 1901. The home became a National Historic Landmark in 1964, and a museum in 2003.
full houseWe were brought in to create the above two wooden stands that would hold signs for visitors inside the home. However, the museum foundation did not want the stands to look out of place in the house. Another custom woodworker who had previously created pieces for the foundation recommended us as the perfect craftsmen for the job.

We first visited the house to get a feel for the period style. An original chair inspired us to match it with a little decorative piece across the top of the sign. We built the pieces using a special white oak, which was the type of wood used throughout the rest of the house. Though the signs do look newer, the style matches very well.

Ben_Stand vertical

The design requirements of these pieces were such that the stands could not have been without the hand of a knowledgeable woodworker. Working in this historic home was a simple, fun project for us! Have questions about this project, or need historic renovations or period-pieces? Send us an email or give us a call at 317.679.5890.

Marvelous Woodworking also had the opportunity to help with historic renovations at the Parry Mansion. Read more about that extensive project here.

03 Jun 2016
Renovations, Staircases Permalink
Project Highlight: Updating a Staircase

Project Highlight: Updating a Staircase

June 3, 2016

Though staircases in most homes are natural focal points, many homeowners often do not think about updating or changing them. Often, updating a staircase is performed after a different change—redoing entryway flooring. This was exactly the case with our clients in Carmel. They had replaced their old foyer flooring with dark stained hickory wood, which looked gorgeous, but now the carpeted stairs did not match. We were then brought on to complete the project by updating and matching the staircase with the new wood floor, refreshing the entire style of the foyer and creating a stunning addition to their home.

The old staircase had worn-down carpet, dated balusters and posts. We chose hickory wood and stain to perfectly match the flooring, and proceeded to tear down the staircase to its bare bones. We installed metal balusters, boxed newel posts and wooden treads for an updated look.

Updating a Staircase: treads | Marvelous Woodworking

Project Highlight: Updating a Staircase | Marvelous Woodworking

Our clients wanted the posts to be wider than their originals, so we adjusted the handrails for the new posts. We also replaced the handrail at the top of the basement stairs with the same style.

When updating a staircase, there are a few things to keep in mind:

First, it is very critical to coordinate between the remodeler and the homeowner because stairs are often used every day. Our clients and their dogs needed to be able to navigate the stairs safely after we were done working. It was important for us to rebuild in sections, tearing out one part and getting it fixed up in a day so the stairs would still be usable and safe.

Second, stairs are not easy to remodel. They are like jigsaw puzzles, with many parts that require calculations to size and put together. When you change one aspect, you affect the rest of it. Our clients wanted to widen the post size, which changed the angles and lengths of the handrails, requiring us to do some math! Being an engineer, the recalculations were right up our owner Doug’s alley (in fact, projects that require math are his favorite) and we custom-fit all the components of the stairs perfectly to manage the new proportion.

Updating a Staircase: posts | Marvelous Woodworking

However, not every contractor has this engineering know-how, which is why for staircases you will want to bring in an expert.

Our clients now have a wow staircase that perfectly matches their new flooring, and completes their foyer makeover with a stunning architectural highlight. We at Marvelous Woodworking have built many custom staircases using engineering knowledge and lovely craftsmanship; we would love to help you bring out the best in your staircase too! For a free consultation, send us an email or call us at (317)679-5890.

13 May 2016
Architectural Details Permalink
architectural detailing | Marvelous Woodworking

Step Up Your Home’s Interior Design with Architectural Detailing

May 13, 2016

Your remodeling options do not stop at custom kitchen cabinets, a chic new shower or fresh faucets. You can also step up your interior design by updating your home’s architectural details. Crown molding, wainscoting, window trim and other features bring flair and interest to your rooms. For many new homes, store-bought options are available, but the problem our clients often find with these premade materials is that they don’t quite match the style of their home decor or other existing architecture. As for older homes, details were handmade to begin with, and the trim or molding is not available anywhere. Perfectly fitting architectural details for new and old homes is what Marvelous Woodworking has done for many clients seeking the right look.

custom crown moldingCrown molding is the wood trim over the seams where walls meet ceilings. Adding molding to your rooms quickly gives a plain space architectural depth. An interesting thing to do with crown is to lower it a few inches from the ceiling and install lighting behind it. Add a dimmer switch to the lighting and you get a soft effect that’s perfect for media rooms, bedrooms, dining rooms or any room where soft lighting is desirable. Crown moldings are available at various Home Depot stores, but finding a custom builder will give you that well-fitted look and more style options.

Coffered Ceilings by Doug Marvel, Marvelous WoodworkingA coffered ceiling adds dimension and a bold look to any room, and is particularly nice in kitchens, dining and family rooms. Coffers in higher ceilings are especially striking. There are many options when it comes to design. The ceiling inside the coffer can be painted a different color; coffers can be outlined with crown molding that is lighted from behind; and grid patterns can be small or large. Again, custom may be the way to go if you have a very specific look in mind, or want an exact match with your existing home decor.

Drastic change is not needed to bring architectural interest to your design. Adding wainscoting up a staircase or corbels to your fireplace mantel are simple ways to achieve a detailed look. Corbels are decorative pieces that provide shelf support, and are also used in exterior architecture to soften angles. White Wainscoting | Custom Woodworking Projectscustom fireplace mantel_whitebrickcorbel

When crafting architectural details, our goal is to always match the house’s style as closely as possible. This approach is especially needed in older homes, where you have to hand make anything that breaks or wears out in order to match the rest of the house. One of Marvelous Woodworking’s first jobs was to replace some deteriorated trim for a Broad Ripple bungalow house built in the 50s. Their choice was to either replace all the trim in the house with a new store-bought style, or find a custom woodworker like us who could replicate the trim. We took the same approach when we were asked to come back and create a custom built-in cabinet. We not only incorporated the trim, but other architectural details of the house so the cabinet looked like it had always been there.

Custom Cabinetry | Custom Woodworking

One of the oldest homes we ever worked on was the Parry Mansion. The house was built early 1900s, and we really had to do our research to accurately recreate the architecture in the period style. The door and window frames we built stay true to the old world feel of the entire home.

Window arches at Parry Mansion by Doug Marvel, Marvelous Woodworking

You can read and see more about the Parry Mansion project here.

Architectural detailing adds dimension and richness to your rooms. We at Marvelous Woodworking have been able to provide custom solutions for homeowners looking for the right design to compliment their style perfectly. If you would like to discuss a project with us, send us an email or give us a call at 317.679.5890 to set an appointment.