Phil had some unusual storage requirements and a personal style atypical of NorCalMod… but we delivered something to his liking.
In this build, we powdercoated the legs a satin black and swapped out the zinc hardware for brass (backed with fiber washers) which gave it an aesthetic very different than the other builds we've worked on. The shelves are edge-banded black walnut that, in combination with the black and brass, complements Phil's aesthetic.
His space is quite unique and this piece needed to straddle some built-in building features, so the legs had to be extra tall (15in) — solid walnut "stalks" with adjustable feet. These are definitely the tallest feet so far, yet the piece is very stable.
We also used this as an opportunity to experiment with the DIY and neutral panels. These are typically a cost-saving option and a chance for the customer to be creative. We used the neutral panels (satin black on one side) and adhered vintage blueprints to the other.
I'd been holding on to the blueprints for years — they allude to The Memorial to the Women of the World War and the American Red Cross Building… kind of cool (we had large versions of the elevation in our house before the sunlight obliterated them). In this case, since the piece is sitting in a corner, the black sides face the wall and the blueprints face to the insides to be partially obscured by the contents of the shelves. The blueprints — due to the nature of their composition — will fade over time and take on their own patina, which will be interesting to see.
In the case of the panels, though, you could imagine covering them with most anything: old posters, cool patterns, wrapping paper, etc. on either one or both sides. It's a very custom and cost effective alternative to our more typical walnut or painted panels.
