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Southwestern Furniture

Although most of the furniture I build has modern styling, I have developed my own take on Southwestern furniture over the years. If you’re looking to match your existing furniture or decor, or simply like the look of a “zia” double reveal, a touch of simple southwestern style may just be what it takes to put the icing on your custom furniture cake.
The blue glass top on this table echoes the faint blue wash, done on Oak, creates a cool, tranquilizing centerpiece to this Southwest living room.
	The “Zia” designed trim on the four sides of the under skirt (and even under the glass!) are duplicated on the side banco made to display the customer’s personal collection of art.
Done in the same southwest style, this end table was done in a beige wash to match the customer’s leather recliner. Of note, I often use glass tops with coffee and end tables. The glass is always encased in wood to protect the edge of the glass from chipping. A glass top table in a high-traffic area is sensible, easy to wipe clean, and is fairly inexpensive. Available in many tints, glass can be used to complement the tone of the wood.
	This king-size waterbed, done in Wormy Maple, also reflects a southwest style. Complementary night stands and entertainment center at the foot of the bed have a natural finish which keeps the beauty of the wood alive.
The new flat screen TV has enabled a less bulky piece of entertainment furniture to accommodate it and the components. The 32″ flat screen sits nicely on the 59″x 20″x 45″ piece of custom made furniture. I still recommend that customers not enclose the cabinet around the screen because of ever-changing technology.
	This cabinet does take advantage of functional design with the use of sombraje style doors (salt cedar and willow twigs) to allow airflow for the equipment to stay cool. The large storage drawers accommodate CD’s, DVD’s and all of the extra electronic accessories. The choice of Wormy Maple wood adds to the Southwest rustic look that the customer needed to compliment his preexisting home decor.
A couple came in and ordered a pair of cabinets with full extension drawers for the storage of their very large CD collection. They liked the look of rustic Alder with a natural finish and my suggestion of putting the twin cabinets on hidden wheels for mobility. Then they threw out the wild card: They asked that the cabinets have doors made from salt cedar and willow whip, all dyed and colored in a South West motif.
	I explained that I didn’t do that but that we could have it subbed out. Much to my anguish, but later a blessing, they insisted I do it. I did my R&D talking to old timers in the North Valley of Albuquerque about dyes and paints and quick wipe downs to keep the look of wood while adding color.
After I did the cabinets above, I realized I had stumbled onto something that I wanted to pursue further in the style of the doors. The result of this pursuit was the Spirit Portal.
	A Spirit portal is a symbol representing the many spirits that embrace each of us in our daily lives. From the spirit of laughter to the spirit of dance, from hope to love, we are all made up of spiritual beings and sometimes need reminding of this blessing as we go thru our temporal lives.
While we are all our own gatekeepers, my intent is to provide a tool of affirmation to the goodness in each of us. It is, I believe, this intrinsic value in all of us that can make this a better life, not only for ourselves but also for those around us.