The Study Living Room

Craftsman House #24 Study/ Living Room

When compared to the sketch (see previous image from this set) from the May, 1905 issue of "The Craftsman", you can see that this tile fireplace is based on the actual plans rather than the magazine sketch. I had a difficult time deciding whether to use the stone shown in the magazine or the tile as shown in the actual plans. Ultimately I chose the tile because it gave a little more "polish" to the overall feel of the room.

The mantle on the fireplace is from a solid slab of wood that was in my father's damp basement for over 30 years - he was saving it for a special project that he never got around to doing. I'm not sure where he originally got it, but it was completely covered with a black, sooty grease. I had heard that it was used to cover the service pits in a garage that serviced busses. I had no idea what kind of wood it was or whether it would still be usable due to the damp environment of the basement. It was so dark and covered with grease & dirt that no distinguishable grain was visible. When I cleaned it up and had it run through a planer and joiner I was amazed to find that the grease had preserved a beautiful, thick slab of white oak with the "quarter sawn" side on the front face!

My father passed away a few years ago, before I moved back to Pennsylvania and began construction on the home. It means a lot to me to have been able to incorporate something of his right here in the living room, where I spend so much of my time.