A few weeks ago we were lucky enough to visit the dream home of one of our customers,  located in the beautiful and scenic South Shore region of Nova Scotia.  This home is made for relaxation and entertaining with a good dose of fun!

The homeowners are long-time customers of ours and we’ve built several pieces of furniture for them over the past decade. The pieces have really stood the test of time; they still look great and fit in perfectly with the fun cottage aesthetic of the home. We thought we’d share some photos from our visit, take a look!

Here are photos of the house and barn, which have both been completely renovated to suit the homeowners. The barn is the ultimate entertainment retreat; outfitted with a professional grade kitchen, a sauna, sixteen-person hot tub, steam room, weight room, an office, a living area, and a home theatre. You can imagine why we didn’t want to leave!

By re-using the old exterior barn-wood  for the interior walls, the main living space in the barn showcases the character and history of the old structure.

 We made these two matching cabinets for storage in the living area of the main house. The large rope-pull drawers are on castors and provide easy access to the firewood.

Here are the beds we made to furnish some of the guest bedrooms in the house. Sappho’s daughter Lila is showing off the sleigh bed, which has a pull-out bed built just underneath.
For the washrooms, we made some fun wall-cabinets and a tall armoire to store towels and bathroom basics.

It was really fun to be a part of this South Shore dream home. We hope these happy customers will enjoy their henhouse pieces for many years to come!

Can you believe it’s October already?! We’ve been busy bees here at the shop; getting ready for Christmas, stocking up on antique treasures, and as always we’ve been working away on a variety of custom pieces.

Lately we’ve had a lot of requests for pieces built in walnut. Walnut is a great choice for furniture or cabinetry because it’s very durable and has an attractive grain. With proper care, walnut pieces can last many lifetimes.

This entertainment armoire is made of a birch surround with plywood walnut doors (we always always trim our plywood with real solid wood for longevity). The birch is painted a creamy white, the doors were left natural and have been treated with oil. This piece really showcases the beauty of walnut. The simple contemporary lines draw attention to the textures and colour of the natural wood doors and drawers. To keep with the linear and contemporary feel of the design, the vertical wood grain of the doors continues into the drawers.

Because of its durability, walnut is a great choice for any high-usage piece of furniture. We made this custom walnut island and gave it a dark walnut coloured stain. The perimeter of the surface has been embellished with a subtle hand-painted design.

Down below there is a slatted shelf for open storage and “hidden” drawers just underneath the top surface for place-mats and napkins. In collaboration with our customer, the legs were reproduced from an antique newel post, and were hand-turned on a lathe by our amazing woodworker. We feel this design and choice of rich wood perfectly suit the William Morris aesthetic of this Halifax kitchen. What do you think?

I’m just taking a break from unpacking and pricing some of this year’s Christmas stock (I know, I know, how dare I utter the word!) to show off some gorgeous pieces we recently built. Check it out:

These two matching pieces are custom and are built of solid walnut with soft-closure drawers. They have an Asian influence with extremely clean lines. I think they really showcase the exquisite skills of our builder and designer. Stunning! They’re just awaiting hardware before they can be delivered.

The customer is using them for bedroom side tables, but these pieces could easily be used as a set of dressers placed side by side, or individually in a hallway or dining area as a side table.

We’re really proud of these pieces, so we think it’s OK to show off a little ;). What do you think of them?
-Alyssa

This is a bedroom that has long awaited a caring and thoughtful touch. An addition was built several years ago which included this ample size master and ensuite and a large family room below. After an exhausting time renovating the couple lacked energy and time to furnish and finish these beautiful new spaces. We were more than happy to help! Henhouse was called upon to create a room that was relaxed and elegant but also friendly, eclectic and cozy. Shown here are the foundations of this room so far; a new upholstered headboard and skirt, toss cushions, benches, side tables and lamps. With the exception of the lamps all were designed and made by henhouse. Lamps from Bellissimo. Stay tuned for the final result once it has been filled in with rugs, drapery, art, soft furnishings, family photos and personal touches…
Walnut dressers as side tables, so elegant and classic.