Our partnerships with Indianapolis interior designers bring us some fun and challenging projects. Designer Elaine Pauley called us recently to assist in a Meridian-Kessler historic home restoration for one of her clients. The house was built in 1955, but much of the interior was in an outdated 70’s style; Elaine’s goal was to help her clients bring it back to its mid-century modern roots. Old homes can be difficult to update as things were constructed differently years ago, and new additions often do not fit structurally or aesthetically. However, Elaine had worked with us before on several design projects, and she knew our expertise in custom woodworking would solve these problems.
Our clients were looking for a well-crafted, large bookshelf with some additional storage for a family room. This project was easy to accomplish in the old house as it was a simple job of measuring the ceiling height and creating the desired look. We finished the bench top in natural cherry, a warm wood that has a way of darkening nicely over time.
For optimum visual interest, we handpicked and arranged all of the cherry pieces individually. All natural wood has its own personality, and looks its best when the craftsman designs around each piece.
When the owners purchased the home, the hearth room was a bit of an interior design mess, with dark paneling on the walls and an unsightly TV projector hanging from the ceiling. At first their plan was to wait to remodel the room, but they disliked it so much they soon had Elaine rip everything out! The goal was to modernize the space into a family room where they could watch TV, relax and entertain friends and family. They also wanted storage on the right side of the large brick fireplace. With the quality, functionality and character they were looking for, there was no way store-bought cabinetry was going to fit the bill.
The custom cabinetry includes a roll-out TV stand, general storage and a place to hide and access the AV components. The homeowners did not want the TV out all the time as they do not watch it a lot, so designing the cabinetry to hide the TV was an important feature.
The family room had more challenges than just its outdated 70’s look; the ceiling was very uneven. It was quite the challenge to make the ceiling look uniform and flat, but with some clever molding tricks, we managed it, and even put molding above the brick fireplace in accordance with true mid-century style.
When you are working in an older home, little of the original structure is square or perfectly aligned, making custom solutions the best way to get things just right. On this project, the varying ceiling heights made custom molding necessary for the room to look its best.
Elaine offered some nice words about our work: “I have worked with Marvelous Woodworking before and I have been seeking them out ever since. They are my go-to craftsmen for quality, problem-solving, and producing exactly what I want. Doug Marvel is such a good listener—a big reason why he can make what you’re looking for. He has a passion for what he does and it shows in his work. You call Doug when you are looking for character; anyone can just build a home, but character is what sets it apart and Doug is good at supporting that vision of character and personality.” Thank you Elaine!
We at Marvelous Woodworking love working closely with clients to create their perfect custom project, in both historic homes and newer ones. Call us at (317)679-5890 or send us an email and we will schedule a free consultation with you.
