Burl Veneer Rolling Door
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Entering the condominium’s living space, one was looking at a bland, flat, pocket door to a guest bedroom. The client asked if I could design and build a barn type rolling door to add more visual interest. The design could have the door roll left, into a corner, or right, around a curved wall. It would then be exposed to the entire living area, which contained Korean furniture. We decided to go around the curved wall, even extending the track, and tying it into the design of the cabinet nearby, which had mitered frames, flat panel burl veneer, and handmade brass hardware.
We wanted the veneered door panels to be crisp and pop out, like a painting in a frame, even though the panels in the furniture pieces were somewhat “muddy” looking. The veneer is book matched vertically and horizontally, to balance the look of the door. All of the hardware had to be made from found pieces, and are brass where practical, and steel and cast iron made to look like brass where necessary (this is a blacksmithing technique of brass brushing iron at a “black” heat). The wood used in the furniture was an unidentifiable burl, and the best veneer match I could find was Carpathian Elm Burl, which I obtained almost 40 years ago and had sitting on a shop shelf waiting for the proper project. The client provided some Korean cabinet locks that they wished to display, so I created bases to use them as handles, and help tie the look into the Korean furniture. The client is very pleased, and leaves the door open where it can be enjoyed from the entire living space, and considers it art. - Larry Liggett |