The Farmer Kitchen

We recently completed a lovely kitchen located in Drexel Hill. It was the finishing touch to a larger home renovation headed by Buzz Sichel of Sichel Construction and designed by Philip Ivory Architects.

The 100 year old, Tudor-style, stone home begged for a kitchen with a classic design. The warmth that the house exuded and the happy family inside it required a functional and fun space.

The main kitchen area consisted of white cabinets with a Shaker style door and foot. The green glass bin pulls and cast iron farm sink spoke of a bygone era. The family chose an old drafting table for the island, the perfect compliment. We added a spice drawer and bread drawer insert, as well as a smooth functioning, pullout shelf system to maximize usability in the corner cabinet.

An integral part of the vision was the floor to ceiling hutch, which separates the dining room and kitchen. The marble hutch counter was set low at 30" off the floor to make it easier to knead dough for bread and other baked treats. I can attest to the baking prowess of the lady of the house and I’ve been told that it has spurred more help from the kids since the counter is closer tokid height (a happy, albeit unanticipated result).

The highlights for me were definitely the hutch and butler's pantry - essentially another small kitchen. We utilized wonderful, old growth redwood, salvaged from the old Schmidt's Brewery, formerly located in Northern Liberties. This redwood holds somewhat of a mythical status among woodworkers of the city. The salvaged wood made its way into the hands of many and is coveted by those still sitting on their personal stashes. We used all of ours in this project, but I'm glad to say that it couldn'thave gone to a nicer family.

Check out the slideshow for more pictures!

Where does our wood come from?

I was recently asked where I find the reclaimed woods that we utilize. The answer is everywhere.In the blighted neighborhoods of Philly, it is estimated that there are 40,000 vacant properties. So, 100-150 year old homes are constantly being demolished. There are literally mountains of wood being sent to landfills everyday.

Philadelphia was built with Long Leaf Pine. Vast forests of this species grew in the eastern U.S. from Virginia to Florida. The trees were harvested for use in industry and to build our cities. Now, this wonderful, undervalued resource is here for to us to save. If we didn't live in the city, we wouldn't have access to it.

Old growth pine is much denser and visually appealing than new pine. It has a very distinct grain and deep, rich colors. Reclaiming it reveals all the character that would otherwise be lost.

Unfortunately, Adam Rung Woodworks can only divert a small amount out of the waste stream. What we do save will be around for few hundred more years.

Where others see trash, we see beautiful wood. We are trash pickers and dumpster divers, but above all, we are makers.

The Kensington Benches

We've added 2 more sizes to our wonderful reclaimed pine bench series. Now available are 2' and 4' long versions in both the square and trapezoid bases. Each bench has a unique character of the reclaimed wood, but we also utilized a variety of water-based dyes to give the base of each bench a modern aesthetic. Color options include red, orange, blue, black, yellow, green, and natural. Utilizing discarded pine joists and beams reveals stunning old-growth wood and preserves valuable material, but can be a time-consuming process.

Often large sections of the joists have rot, water damage, or charred areas. These beams often have staples, nails, or screws embedded in them. Using a nail puller (a tool that's been out of fashion for 100 years) and hand-held metal detector, we extract any metal from the wood to avoid damaging our machinery. Only then do we begin to expose the striking grain concealed within the joists.

Since many of the joists were cut from the center of a tree and have been unfinished--often in basements for several decades --they tend to contain minor checks and cracks. We take care to eliminate large defects, but the rest are filled with translucent resin which creates a smooth, splinter-free surface without compromising the simple beauty of the wood.

All benches have scoops carved into their seats for added comfort. The open framework of the bases contributes a more delicate aesthetic to these sturdy, rustic pieces.

Devlin Bed

Recently, we had the opportunity to design and build a queen sized bed with a natural-edge Cherry headboard, reclaimed Pine posts and stretchers, and Aluminum accents. The wood for the posts came from two massive 10" square Heart Pine beams that were each nearly 8 feet long.

These two beams rested inconspicuously in one corner of the shop, awaiting a new life. The stunning grain was revealed when we began milling them, beautifully complimented the richly figured Cherry slab headboard. All four were mounted on the lathe and hand-turned. Each features Aluminum discs on the floor and between the Pine and the Cherry finials on top.

Instead of wooden bow-ties, the headboard is prevented from splitting further by four Aluminum straps.

Finished with a hand-rubbed Urethane and Linseed oil mix, then put together with bolts (for easy disassembly) the bed frame looks spectacular.

Repurposed Storage

These cabinets came from the warehouse of a metal scrap yard. They were used for years as sorting bins for various gears, pulleys, and vicker valves (whatever they are). My friend Tony owns the scrap yard and brought them to me to turn into cabinets for his man cave.

The face frames are stained reclaimed pine. I dug through my "collection" to find the various doors, handles, and decorations.

The "yellow" cabinet has a spalted maple bar that folds open. Beside it is a lens that magnifies whatever precious tchotchke is placed behind it. A sand casting pattern is used as a door on the bottom right.

The "red" cabinet has a large door with the rough hewn exterior of a reclaimed pine joist. I veneered the pine to a plywood substrate that I painted red, so the color would show through the gaps in the book matched panel. One of my favorite parts of this cabinet is how the circle in the top door is off set against the "x" of the shelves behind.

The "white" cabinet has a bamboo door with salvage iron handle. The two bottom doors are reclaimed pine and we thought it would be cool to cut the corners around the gear profile.

Elliott & Jean's Bed

We were recently given the opportunity to create this beautiful custom cherry bed for our wonderful clients, Elliott & Jean. The natural edge cherry headboard had spectacular grain patterns and large cracks on each end, which lent itself to inlayed bowties. We chose (with their help) walnut as the accent wood. Nice choice, guys. The Japanese pagoda served as the inspiration for the shape of the walnut finials and bolt caps.

I once made a similar bed for two other clients - Bill & Liz. They later told me how inspiring it was to wake up in such a thing of beauty. Thanks again to Elliott & Jean, I hope that your experience is the same!

KO Angotti

We recently had the pleasure of sitting down to chat with Kara Angotti of KOA. She posted a nice little write up of us on her blog which you can view here. Thanks Kara!