Cooley Gallery project

Chris Cooley happens to have a bit of an artistic side and has been making pottery for years when he's not busy training or playing for the Washington Redskins. In fact, he owns an art gallery in Leesburg, VA. Chris needed one large display table in the center of his gallery and two long narrow tables to go along the wall. Through some good fortune, Chris got connected with Wood Eye Wood Products and we were honored they asked us to collaborate on the design and building of these three tables for Chris' gallery.

The main display table is a huge slab of salvaged, natural-edge black walnut with an amazing rainbow of pastel colors and large natural cracks to add character. We decided to create a simple yet sturdy base for this amazing slab of wood because we didn't want to compete with the amazing top. After constructing the base we installed 4 tiger maple butterfly inlays where the cracks needed to be stabilized in the event of further cracking with the change in seasons. The top measured almost 50" wide by 10' long and believe it or not, it was one solid piece. Enjoy the pictures below:







The two long, narrow wall tables were made from ambrosia maple with beautiful blue worm streaks. The planks were so long that we decided nothing would do these boards justice better than our continuous plank design. The continuous plank is one of our Appalachian Joinery originals; the design transforms a long plank of wood with natural edges on both sides into a minimalist functional contemporary work of art. The plank is divided into three sections where the two ends are cut off and dovetailed into the top creating a complete allignment of the grain with a beautiful touch of craftsmanship. The planks were a solid two inches thick so to cut and fit these dovetails was such a pleasure. When all the dovetails were cut and fitted we installed a new addition to the continuous plank design, elevating feet. The feet lift the table off the floor and create a shadow line that gives a sense of balance and completion. While the continuous plank design is breathtaking in itself, we felt that the sense of nature in the natural edges of these boards was the real focal point.