Furniture By Josh, LLC

Furniture By Josh, LLC Custom hand crafted furniture

I think standards are meant to be revisited. Take, for example, the dining room table. Common standards have the table...
10/15/2022

I think standards are meant to be revisited. Take, for example, the dining room table. Common standards have the table being a minimum of 44" wide. This is to accommodate a plate, dishes in the middle, and the plate of the person sitting across from you. But as dining habits change, so too does the need for the size of the table to change.

In this case, the owners of this table became empty nesters. Their existing table, that felt comfortable when everyone was home, started feeling like an aircraft carrier when only the two of them would be eating dinner.

Another instance would be if your family doesn't serve from the table and instead serves from the kitchen. This too is a habit I see more families use with smaller dining room areas. The open kitchen concept, along with a serving counter top negate the need for such massive tables.

So we shrunk the table down to dimensions that would create a more intimate feeling when only two people would be eating. At 30" across, it is enough for two plates but nothing in between. And when family does visit, two leaves can be placed in the middle to open up the space.

The color pattern was chosen so as more leaves entered the table, it becomes lighter towards the edges.

When your old tables give out but the hardware is still useful, just replace the tables. That's the backstory on this c...
04/26/2022

When your old tables give out but the hardware is still useful, just replace the tables.

That's the backstory on this coffee table set. The original tables were veneer and received a bit of water damage. Instead of scrapping the entire set, I designed these tables based on the existing ones.

A sugar maple slice coffee table. This was cut down from a yard many years ago. They had the sawyer keep one slice tha...
04/24/2022

A sugar maple slice coffee table.

This was cut down from a yard many years ago. They had the sawyer keep one slice that they would eventually make into a coffee table for their parent's 60th anniversary.

Once I was able to clean up both sides, the beauty of the tree really started to shine through.

Chasing thousandths.This is the final piece to a collaboration I did to remake an office space. The two prior sapele de...
11/06/2021

Chasing thousandths.

This is the final piece to a collaboration I did to remake an office space. The two prior sapele desks will sit on either side of this cabinet.

It is made with ribbon striped sapele and curly maple. Small wenge pieces are the black accents in the handles.

It was one of those pieces where I constantly checked with micrometers over and over, from fitting the dovetails on the sides, spacing drawers in the front, and measuring the tapers on the legs. Finicky does not begin to describe the methods I used to make this piece.

But I really, really like it. It is the modern day hutch but without the bulk. It is light and airy, but still has a ton of storage space. Details abound and the color combinations work well together.

The wood is bombastic. It is outrageous. And I love it. I could stare at every detail every day and still find something new to like about it.

Someone asked me if it had any nails in it. I responded that there are none. They found it impossible that you could put something like this together without them. I found it impossible to think that I would start with nails as my joinery method. The joinery is on display, one because I like it and two because it reinforces the idea that with the right mindset, you can accomplish anything with traditional joinery.

Enjoy the view. This is a one time piece that will never be made again :)

Two office desks designed to use as much space as an open wall could provide. The sapele, with it's quartered grain has...
07/31/2021

Two office desks designed to use as much space as an open wall could provide. The sapele, with it's quartered grain has a ribbon stripping like no other.

I was tasked with making a reproduction Stickley coat rack. The original had interesting details, good proportions, but...
06/22/2021

I was tasked with making a reproduction Stickley coat rack. The original had interesting details, good proportions, but had a few problems aging well with the joinery that it was given. I decided to make sure that the joinery of the piece matched the beauty of the white oak.

Only recently did I recognize that I spend less than 1% of my time with a piece that I build. They go on to live their ...
06/19/2021

Only recently did I recognize that I spend less than 1% of my time with a piece that I build. They go on to live their own lives, creating memories for others and anchoring entire rooms with their presence. Delivering furniture can be a melancholy experience. I see something I've stared at for months leave my clutches. But then I get a small glimpse into the world I've helped create and come across environments that feel homogenous through my work. The Morris chair sits happily among three tall book cases with plenty of light
to help make the chair sparkle.

Creating effects on wood is an interesting path. Here, a mantel was made out of ash, hand dovetailed to contain the fro...
06/16/2021

Creating effects on wood is an interesting path. Here, a mantel was made out of ash, hand dovetailed to contain the front panel to allow for expansion and contraction, and then dyed black. With a metal scraper, I peel back the layers of dye and let wood grain and color intermingle.

I've had the pleasure of dealing with fantastic farmers. Many years ago, one let me dig through his burn pile for anyth...
06/12/2021

I've had the pleasure of dealing with fantastic farmers. Many years ago, one let me dig through his burn pile for anything I could find. At the bottom, underneath years of coal and ash, I found two huge beams that still felt structurally sound. After taking them home and sitting on them for many years, I started milling off the burn to reveal white oak. One day I'd knew I'd have the right project for the wood. And this is the result. A timeless piece that fits into any setting.

A pair of benches heading to UW Platteville.
05/22/2021

A pair of benches heading to UW Platteville.

A large dining room table top in ash. Ash has a fantastic brown heart wood and a white, outer sap wood. Choosing just ...
02/20/2021

A large dining room table top in ash.

Ash has a fantastic brown heart wood and a white, outer sap wood. Choosing just the right boards, we were able to paint an interesting pattern that should make for good conversation for years to come.

01/31/2021

Congratulations to Katie S! While it is no Mega Millions, I hope it goes a ways towards making your new kitchen a little more interesting.

At the end of the video, I mentioned that I would donate the money I had allocated for shipping to a local food panty. I chose Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin . Hopefully the Cookie Monster Cutting Board helps take a bite out of hunger.

All the best and thanks for the shares.

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2714 Waltham Road
Madison, WI
53711

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