As custom woodworkers, we are called on for many special projects that require our problem-solving skills and quality craftsmanship. We can come into any home and create a new piece that ties into the existing style of the house so it looks like it’s always been there. However, there are always those projects that take us by surprise. Such an event happened this past November, when Marvelous Woodworking was approached with the opportunity to be part of Animal Planet’s TV show “Tanked”. They were shooting an episode in Indianapolis at the home of basketball player Paul George. The project? Integrate two fish tanks into an existing basement design. The project began almost a year ago when our friend Eric Schneller, owner of local remodeling company Crew Property Improvement Specialists, asked us if we wanted to join him on the Tanked project to create the tanks’ trim. We said yes to this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Though we were not building anything big or complicated, this project was one of our most challenging yet. The initial approach to the design was quite impromptu—on the day of the shoot we were told to show up and have some materials and ideas ready without going through an official design process. We walked in with raw materials, rough dimensions, and a few ideas that had been bouncing back and forth between the producers and Mr. George. The day of the shoot came at a furious pace. The fish tanks were shipped to the house and installed in the walls in the morning, and come mid-afternoon it was time for us to do our part; putting the trim and finishing touches onto the tanks to make them look great in the space. We had several constraints—we had to come up with and implement our design all on that day, and we had to do it quietly as filming was going on in another part of the house. Quiet is quite the challenge when you are using saws and power tools! It took every ounce of ingenuity and brain power to quickly put together an aesthetic frame design we all were happy with. Once filming was complete, we came back a few weeks later and worked directly with Mr. George to create a final design that tied into his basement’s style. We found a metallic material he liked and created a backsplash façade over the wall.
To frame the tanks, we crafted PVC trim which offered the flexibility necessary for the accentuated curve of the wall we wanted to follow.
The final result of our hard work was a pair of fish tanks incorporated to truly be part of the style of his basement. This was definitely one of our most challenging projects, but we loved being part of Tanked and creating something beautiful in an Indianapolis home.

Watch the Tanked episode here.