This piece was commissioned for a large wall in a loft on Chicago’s downtown west side. I created drawings of bookcase designs and constructions with a clean modern look. But I had also been working in the shop the last couple years developing finishes that had a worn, aged  distressed look that were achieved by distressing wood, layering on different colors of paint and then sanding the pieces out to bring up the character and textures in the wood. That combined with antique metal work and hardware got to a folk art/ Shaker inspired sensibility that was really interesting. The couple I was working with thought that would be a nice fit for their home which is full of lots of art and an eclectic mix of furniture. The piece was designed as a composite of ten different boxes in a variety of finishes. Much of the construction was milled out of large Southern Pine boards which needed to be dried in ricks before cutting. The large boards were created by making a lot of glued-up sections. Two of the sections were built of stained cherry. The whole unit is just a little over ten feet wide and nine feet tall, a large piece but completely in scale with the fourteen foot ceilings. I had wanted to build a piece like this for quite a while and thought the combination of finishes and materials would have an excellent and unique aesthetic. All came together nicely with a fairly easy install. See the Farmhouse Furniture project to view some of the development work that came before. The Shaker Sideboard project was commissioned by folks that liked the green case and drawers in this one. This project was created in collaboration with Jacquie Garrett/ Garrett Mitchell Interiors. (CLICK ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF PHOTOS TO SEE MORE VIEWS).