Bespoke Gate Post Caps

These two bespoke gate post caps were designed to fit on the driveway gateposts of a customer last year. He is an author and a bee keeper, hence the carved motifs. They are  hand carved from locally sourced wood and each made from a single piece of oak.

You can see more newel caps here and I can make them to your design and dimensions.

The client was very specific about the species of bee that he wanted me to carve on the book. It had to be apis melliferaI had to do some research before carving, so I could get the shape of the body correct. Oddly enough, at the time of carving we discovered a small colony of miner bees in the garden, which led us to try and see how many different types of bee we could spot. 

Luckily for my gate post caps project the design for the green man carving was easier. I did look at a few different styles though, and gave the client a sketch of each. The scale of the book limited the detail I could carve, so the green man had to be relatively simple. Sometime I would like to carve a much bigger and more detailed green man, with more leaves.

Furniture for Under Stairs

elm, burr elm, bespoke furniture, custom-made furniture, Scottish furniture, cabinet, shelves, dresser, furniture, Finding furniture for under the stairs

Finding furniture for under the stairs can be a problem in small cottages.

Last year a couple came to my workshop to see if I could come up with a solution for their house. They wanted a bespoke piece of furniture, something with cupboards and shelves which would fit a small area under the stairs. They hoped for something in the dresser style, with an angled top section.

Furniture Design Elements

We talked over the design elements they required. They wanted natural edges to the wood which was to be locally sourced Wych Elm. I asked the couple how many shelves were needed and what spacings were preferred between the shelves. We had to make  allowances for electric sockets on the wall behind the cabinet, so they were accessible. They told me exactly what they wanted. I just had to make it for them.

Also it had to be ready for Christmas!

It is 5′ 5″ tall ( 1650 mm ) and 5′ ( 1520 mm ) wide. The lower cabinet is 22″ high ( 560 mm ). The handles and the bun feet are all hand turned, from burr elm. I finished the whole cabinet and shelves with 3 coats of Danish oil. The shelving fits nicely under the stairs and creates a display area where the space had previously been wasted.