The couple that owns this house in Oak Park had installed a chase with fireplace in their living room and wanted a mantel with bookcases on each side designed and built. They had a clear idea of the look they wanted, a fairly spare Craftsman aesthetic, mostly rectangular lines without insets or too much moulding. I presented design drawings and then worked on-site drafting out and placing foam panels on the wall to fine tune the proportions in real space which was really helpful for both of us. The cabinets have grommets in the tops on each side that route through to electrical outlets inside so that lamps or other pieces can be plugged in on top. The tile was installed after the initial construction and installation. I came back after that was complete and installed the baseboards and moulding on the columns. This piece was an absolutely excellent collaboration with the homeowners working through the design and aesthetic overall, a completely cool piece to build as well. (CLICK ON RIGHT SIDE OF PHOTO TO SEE MULTIPLE VIEWS).