Works By Day and Plays All Night
Life of a working dog.

Every month seems to have it's own theme and the month of May has certainly been one of custom furniture randomness.![]()
We have been using custom laser cut panel patterns in many of our cabinets but still haven't featured one on our showroom floor.
The Brentwood Project.:This customer purchases homes and completes high-end remodels. They come to us to help them stage the home with custom furniture.
Over the last few years we have been building our own custom metal furniture and although this is a piece we buy, not build, it's been fun mixing wood and metal into our designs.
I love when I get to give the drawing for this geo table to our shop manager, he gives me a blank stare for a few seconds, than it's total concentration for the next 10 hours.
Another Sara Ingrassia custom furniture design. This walnut entry way cabinet is finished in a alcohol glazed stain with a pre-cat bar top lacquer top coat. We put temporary handles on this piece until Sara finds the perfect pulls.
A client came into the store the other day with a couple ofvery old chairs that were falling apart. The finish on them (which lookscharming in this photo, but trust me, isnt) was coming off in sheets and the upholsterywas threadbare.
The other problem was that these chairs werent them. They simply didnt fit who theclient was, and how they were going to live their lives. They wanted something FAR more modern andedgy, even ironic.
So we went to work. After taking the old finish off, we reupholstered them in this deep purple, and gave them a super glossy black and silver angle.Can there be too many choices.... maybe, but not around our parts. With every new custom order we build we are introduced to a whole new way of looking at a product.
Over the years.... well more like 23 years, we rarely build the same item more than a few times. Our clients are so creative and have such specific design requirements, we have made one of a kind our mantra.
First order of furniture business to start this new year is to wish everyone a happy, healthy ( mind and body ) and successful 2011.
Since 1989 we have been building custom furniture and almost anything our clients have thrown our way. When my partner Maite and I started our business we rented the kitchen area of a empty industrial building in San Fernando, California. That 550 sf was all we needed to begin our journey into the world of furniture design and 2 years later opening our first custom furniture store.
A year ago, actually a bit earlier we were asked by our friend Nan Meltzer, interior designer extraordinaire, to build all the interior wood items for a amazing 3 story house on the beach side of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. This was one of the more challenging projects we have done because of the scope of wood work that was required from cabinets to custom banisters, a 200 year old barn ceiling, reclaimed lumber bi-fold doors, lots of custom furniture and more.
For this first design blog of the year I want to feature the kitchen, and mix of contemporary and vintage elements, beautifully simple and methodically designed for the needs of the clients.
Nothing more exciting than starting with a stripped down interior. I am always amazed at the ability of great interior designers to take a empty palette and turn it into a amazing interior environment.
Want to mention that our vendors for this project are listed at the end of this post, great resources especially the hardware
Jaclyn S. Los Angeles, CA
This could be my new favorite furniture store.
Price-wise this is no IKEA but I think most of their prices are actually really reasonable. Walking by the storefront I spotted a beautiful Chesterfield sofa in an indigo and cream classic print. At Anthropologie something like this will set you back 3k-to-5k. This one, however, was marked at ~$1800 (http://www.mortiseteno...). I couldn't believe it so I decided to go inside.
Literally, I've never seen a home interiors store I thought displayed such classic but eclectic good taste. There were furniture pieces with stunning custom woodwork and cabinet designs, detailed with iron or walnut burls. Amongst other things, I looked at botanical prints, framed vintage maps, an armillary sphere, pewter (?) monkeys, and cast iron sparrows finished in verdigris. Overall, I'd come here for framed art and odds and ends, also big furniture pieces. The lamps appeared to be priced in the whopper range ($350++) for the few price tags I perused. However, they said they're usually running some kind of sale, which is definitely a plus.
Btw - as said in another review, the lack of tude is truly amazing and part of the reason I made a couple purchases. Nobody looked me up and down, nobody followed me around the store or pressured me to buy, but when I had questions they were helpful, charming, and informed.
If your taste is global but not kitschy, refined but not boring, then get on your shopping shoes and check this place out.