What we loved in June

The days have been clear and sunny for the first month of Winter. Brisbane is a wonderful place to be right now.

Blue sky days and cool evenings make for a pleasant change …

Blue sky mornings make for a wonderful backdrop against the vibrant penda

Bouganvillea never fails to disappoint with its vibrant bold hues

Moon gazing

Beautiful clear winter evenings are the perfect chance to gaze at the night sky and take in the breaktaking sight of a perfect full moon.

taking it one step at a time

Taking the time for a beach escape… breathing in fresh salty air, taking a swim in the chrystal clear water are the simple moments that we never take for granted.

The little things are often the big things and in a chaotic world they are the things that keep us grounded , they keep us centered, they give us the energy to keep going.

Here’s to July, may it be filled with health , happiness and contentment for all

Daniele

Introduction to Furniture Making Workshop - Our June Class

It was with much enthusiasm that we re commenced our Woodworking Classes this month.

We welcomed a very happy group of students to our Boondall Workshop on Saturday Morning June 6.

Stuart began the day with an introductory talk about design , construction methods and the various tools used to construct solid timber furniture.

Prior to class commencement, the students nominated their timber of choice along with their individual dimensions that would enable each student to create the table that would suit their home perfectly.

There is little advantage in offering a cookie cutter project as the joy of woodworking is being able to create something beautiful that suits you, your home , your decor your personal taste…

The first day saw students prepping their table parts, including working out the grain pattern, glueing up the tops and then working on the underframe .

A productive morning on the bandsaw

Shaping is a good arm workout

Graeme enjoying learning new skills

Its all in the construction

Check twice, mark once,

A productive day for our students

The second day, saw our students complete construction on their tables, cutting to the desired length, hand planing to ensure the edges are smooth.

This was then followed by sanding all parts to ensure smooth even grains, route edging if so desired.

The final stage was the application of a polyurethane lacquer to protect and ensure longevity of the tables.

Megan, quite rightly proud of her woodworking skills

Our graduating students of June Introduction to Furniture Making Class

A beautiful table made by Megan , featuring Tasmanian Oak ans Cambia for the legs

Congrulation Graeme on a beautiful coffee table made from Surian Cedar

Cheers Harry, we love your Tasmanian Oak Hall table

It was a wonderful workshop, where we were able to share our love and knowledge of woodworking with such a wonderful bunch of people

To encourage their creativity, and to step away from the day to day and do something wonderful for yourself is a beautiful thing to do.

We can’t wait to welcome our August Intro to Furniture Making Students into our workshop and help them realize their woodworking dream

Designing custom made stools

Our lumbar support Bar Stools have brought breakfast to a whole new comfortable level for our clients.
Made from American Ash , Stuart designed these for maximum back support and to blend in with the clients existing dining chairs.
Upholstered in a blonde vinyl to withstand kitchen use these stools were a joy for Stuart to design and make.

Prepping for the shaping of the legs

Fine tuning

The beautiful finished product

Taking pride of place in their new home

Furniture Restoration

It has been an absolute joy to complete some beautiful restoration projects over the last few months.

We love providing a source of joy to our clients when they receive their recently restored piece of yesteryear.

Needing some love

Beautiful end result

Beautiful silky oak table restored

This gorgeous 1920’s Silky Oak Dining Suite with its classic shapes had “good bones” and needed some love to bring out its orginal glory.

We repaired, sanded and Stuart colour matched the finish of these to match the clients existing decor, so these pieces would blend seamlessly to their surrounds and not look new.

Our client then chose some bright floral fabric for the chairs to give a beautiful contrast to the silky oak timber.

A glorious end result to this wonderful era of furniture.

Beautiful blanket box

Blanket boxes are a wonderful practial addition to any home. Our Silky Oak friend here was in need of some TLC and we happily obliged.

Our restoration process included some major repair work to both the internal and external surfaces of this gorgeous 1920’s piece.

Our client once again chose exquisite fabric to complement the warmth of the Silky Oak Grain.

A beautiful old yet new addition to this family home

What we've loved in May

We have to admit, its been a rather weird month (again) but gathering the gratitude for the little things is what we find helps when things seem less than normal.

For me , one of the standouts this month has been the flowering of the ever beautiful camellia trees.

Their fluffy blooms are in abundance and they make such a gorgeous display of happiness. Coupled with blue skies , you can instantly feel the happiness factor elevate almost immediately

There is nothing nicer than a crisp Sunday morning with a good (strong) coffee and some home baked treats. With nowhere to be , and just taking time to sit and read and embrace some peace is what makes a Sunday perfect

What wonderful delights bougainvillea are at the moment. Gorgeous pops of colour are sprouting up everywhere and their happy bright hues are just sensational .

Being able to take day trips to the ocean has been a wonderful treat. The invigorating sea air, the sand between the toes , gazing out at the horizon is a perfect tonic for any day .

everyday miracles …

Breathtaking sunsets are truly a gift and this month there has been spectacuar endings to the day. Mother Nature has surely been dabbling in the paintbox with truly vibrant colours for us to enjoy.

Whilst this month may have not gone according to our original plans ,its been a peaceful month, taking stock counting our blessing for healthy family and friends and enjoying the every day moments that make us grateful for where we live .

Daniele

The joy of being at home

With the weather (slowly) turning to more Autumnal vibes at last and the need to be home is paramount we are proud to extend our timber furniture to our curated home decor items .

Our highly considered range was borne from the desire to create elegant timely pieces that are not only durable but beautiful , as we firmly believe that every day is special and should be celebrated accordingly .

We make all our products onsite in our Brisbane Qld Workshop from solid timber using recylcled or plantation timbers.

With the richness of cambia, the warmth of Jarrah, the buttery smoothness of Oak and the lightness of Pine we create unique homewares that are simply not mass produced but created with the care and attention right here in Queensland .

Tools of the trade in our Brisbane workshop

Our beautiful range includes solid timber chopping boards,the essential kitchen item but which can also do double duty for the essesntial pre dinner cheese platter.

Staying at home never was so good

Or if you err more to the sweet side

We have you covered …

Taking morning tea to a new level with our beautiful timber boards

Our impressive camphor laurel chopping boards do double duty as a stylish serving board.

Our sushi trays are made from various timbers including hoop pine, jarrah and cambia

And as the nights are drawing in why not add some mood lighting with our candle holders

beautiful ambience

in various sizes and timbers

the richness of cambia

or something bigger

Lighting the way …

For more information about our lovely range head on over here or we invite you to come down to our Woodwork Gallery and explore the range for yourself.

---

Fuellled by colour ...

Restoration comes in many shapes and forms, it can be an old rocking chair, a writing desk, a dressing table or rattan furniture.

Rattan, cane or wicker furniture often lends itself to a wonderful restoration process, and done properly and professionally the results will last for so many years.

Like our beautiful examples below, be fuelled by colour, let the brightness shine and give that old lounge or table some special treatment and bring a little bit of sunshine into your home .

Crisp blue and fresh

Giving new life to old furniture

The perfect pink makeover

Create the things you wish existed ...

There is no question that books, in particular the big glorious hard cover gems are one of life’s abundant joys.

The glossy thick pages filled with wise words and inspirational images can take you places you have never been or re aquaint yourself with long lost senimentality .

You can travel the country, roam the world within minutes and take the ultimate escape journey, there is however only one small caveat , the weight of these glorious books often makes reading or perusing an uncomfortable process, the heaviness coupled with the size can put a dent in anyone’s escapism.

So finding a way for our client to enjoy reading a very special and sentimental book of proportionate size and weight Building Bathurst by Graham Lupp was a challenge Stuart happily accepted .

After deliberation and client conversation, Stuart designed (and made) a unique Mini Lecturn or Book reader which provides a stylish platform for those special books we treasure, giving the reader a vessel to house and read the book with ease.

Elegance meets practicality

Easy to assemble

Fully assembled

Made from Camphor Laurel and Silky Oak, this simple easy to use Lecturn provides the ideal area to read, peruse or display those treasured books that should be gloriously displayed to make the everyday special.

As seen “in action” above the mini lecturn providing a wonderful backdrop for Building Bathurst a discerning Historical 2 Volume exploration into the historical architecture of Bathurst NSW Australia.

The journey of creating this unique piece for one of our clients is a privilege , connecting us to learned artisan Graham Lupp who both inspires and educates with his use of paint and pen .

A Joy to make and we hope will remain a constant source of comfort for our avid readers.

Appreciating the every day

We are exploring and enjoying this beautiful Autumnal weather even more lately, as we truly appreciate the beautiful fresh air, the subtle drop in temperature and the glorious change in light as we dive into a new month .

Solitude

Keep well

Keep happy

Tomorrow is a new day

Some mid week restoration

Going about our day to day work in accordance with strict social distancing of course, is what we are doing at the moment.

Completing wonderful work for our clients gives us such a sense of purpose and pride even more so lately.

We have just completed restoration on this Classic 1920’s Silky Oak Dining Table

ready for the makeover

We repaired, sanded repolished to match our existing decor in our lovely clients home

Beautiful results in our restoration of silky oak dining table

Together we can be great ...

Hello friends

The world is pretty weird at the moment, 2020 still continues to challenge us.

Like you are feeling uncertain and anxious about what is unfolding in our city in our beautiful country and beyond.

Health being our number one priority for ourselves, our family and our team, so we are strongly adhering to the hygiene and social distancing recommendations by Queensland Health and we’re ready to continue escalating those when its recommended.

As you know we are a small (but mighty) team and we are endeavouring to keep it that way.

At the moment we are continuing as per normal, our furniture restoration and custom making is continuing in earnest to maintain our high standard of craftmanship.

We are continuing on with our woodworking, furniture making and surfboard making (classes are kept small 7 maximum) and we will continue to do so with our usual passion and just a little more enthusiasm in these fluid times.

Our woodcraft gallery is open, and we are committed to providing a safe and healthy environment within for all that visit us.

As far as our content goes, we are going to stick with regular programming for now.

We want you to feel inspired and at ease, so we’ll continue to share our world with you as we would normally.

Whilst we're being told to distance ourselves socially, now more than ever, we need to find ways to keep connected.

Feel free to say hi, ask us questions we are here 😊

Stay safe, listen to expert advice and be kind to each other .

Regards

Daniele and Stuart

"I'm Still learning ..."

So said Michelangelo at age 87 and rightly so.

The quest for learning and for challenging oneself we believe should never wane.

That is why we take so much proud in our Woodworking classes.

Whether it is our traditional woodworking classes, learning the art of Surfboard Making or creating a hall table our classes are geared for the absolute beginner and aimed at fuelling the inner woodworker

We dont know who gets more satisfaction out of our classes ; the student who has just created an amazing surfboard, or our team on seeing and feeling the great satisfaction of our students.

That feeling when you’ve just made your very own surfboard !

Keeping our classes small ensures there is lots of time and space for personalised tuition. Being in a relaxed yet professional environment serves as a great base for our students to learn.

A lot of our students have no woodworking experience or have even stepped inside a woodworking workshop , so being able to gently guide and encourage learning in a productive and fun way is paramount to us.

If you think 2020 is the year you want to do something beautiful and creative for yourself, step away from the screens and immerse yourself in something new and challenging we urge you to peruse our Calendar of Learning Page and see what may interest you.

Of course you have questions and we are just an email away to answer any of your queries.

See you in class

Waves for Wildlife February 29

We are celebrating all the wonderful things about our great nation ; stunning coastlines, camaraderie, beautiful sunrises, majestic and utterly captivating wildlife to name but a few of our favourite things on February 29 at Moffat Beach Sunshine Coast for our Bywater Design Surfboard Day.

We are getting together for a cause . We are raising much needed funds for Wildlife Rescue South Coast These awsome guys respond to wildlife rescue calls, and as you know they have been inundated for help for our furry friends of late…

We will meet at 6 am at Moffat Beach and head out for a surf, and have a well earned breakfast together afterwards. We’re putting on the free BBQ brunch, but we do ask that you make a contribution to

our fundraiser for Wildlife Rescue South Coast prior to the event.

There will be prizes on the day and the opportunity to ride one of our Demonstration Surfboards.

So bring your board , your sunscreen and a friend and we will see you at Moffat Beach on February 29

Regards

Daniele and Stuart

A beautiful Custom Made Bedroom Suite

Being in the airline industry has certainly rubbed off for our lovely inner city clients, a personal request for Stuart when designing their bedroom suite was to have some “runway lights” as a feature .

Nothing too obstuse, but a gentle nod to the love of their career.

Happy to oblige, Stuart encorporated some elegant lighting along the bed panel that highlights the beautiful rich hue of the Cambia (think rich dark chocolate) and the warmth of Euro Beech …

Euro and Cambia Bedroom ensemble … featuring “runway” feature lights on the left

Along with the elegant bedroom ensemble we designed this clean looking sophisticated TV Unit.

With a “pop up” feature that enables the TV Screen to disappear within seconds .

Again we used Cambia and Euro Beech for effortless continuity.

Beautiful classic pieces that are highly functional yet serve as a wonderful canvas for the addition of personal bedroom accessories .

The natural beauty of Timber

Ready for a good nights sleep

The beginning of 2020

2020 thus far has left a huge impact on our beautiful country.

Along with the rest of the nation we have watched in disbelief over what has happened in the last few weeks and months. We are in disbelief over the magnitude of the loss and devastation that has occured .

Our determination is strong both on a personal and professional level to do what we can to help with the rebuilding of communities and will continue to do so as time goes on.

Please trust that as we begin to get back to some kind of normal we are not turning a blind eye to what is still affecting all of us

For us to be in a position to offer further help it is important that we keep running Bywater Design as usual .

We thank you for your ongoing support

Daniele and Stuart

Colourful furniture makeovers

Never underestimating the power of bright beautiful colours, we completed these fabulous makeovers to some classic rattan furniture , with fabulous results

Classic shaped rattan chairs in dire need of some repairs and colour

These chairs are just perfect for outdoor or front deck living. They have such great shape and character.

We were keen to repair what was needed especially around the arms and prepare for the colour.

Big on the wow factor

Our clients chose a dramatic blue to really accentuate the wonderful features of this lounge. We used 2pack high gloss for longevity

We undertook the same process for the accompanying table

Restoration just makes good sense especially with impressive results such as these. What could have been destined for the rubbish bin is now beautifully repaired and restored and ready to begin a wonderful new life

Restoration Projects

The last couple of weeks we have completed some lovely restoration pieces for our clients.

They have made for wonderful birthday presents and the element of surprise at having a special sentimental piece of furniture lovingly restored is one of those heart pulling moments.

Bringing or restoring family heirlooms back to their or even better original glory is one of the most satisfying aspects of our work ( we know we say it all the time ) but the pleasure we gleam from this is enormous.

1930’s Pot Cupboard

beautiful end result for this iconic piece of furniture

Pot Cupboards were originalyy used to hold a chamber pot next to the bed before the advent of indoor plumbing.

quirky and cute this silky oak shelf is in need of some tlc

Repairs included in the restoration process brought this funky little stand into the now and will give it much need stability as well as bringing out the gorgeous Silky Oak grain . A light and natural finish provides the final touch on this wonderful antique.

What we loved in November

As we are well and truly into the last month of the DECADE !! It is always worthwhile to relfect back on the past month and gather the gratitude for the last 30 days

The first flush of summer , is there anything sweeter than the scent of Frangipanis

The purple parade, making the day that much prettier

When your coffee is hot and strong. The day is off to a good start

When it rains, it pours .

The sound of rain was long overdue and the ping pong of hail on the roof signalled once again that summer storms are back, and lets hope with a lot more rain to come.

“Every summer has its story “ and we cant wait to see what unfolds this season

Creating a Mid Century Dining Suite

Remaining faithful to the mid century era, a client requested we design and make a Lounge Suite that lends itself to the characteristics of this era

Design Features had to include;

Functionality; form following function

An cluttered feel, sleek lines with both organic and geometric forms and minimal ornamentation.

Initial conceps were drawn up by Stuart so that the client could get a “feel” for what the end product would be

We chose Tasmanian Oak for this elegant 2 Seater and 2 single chairs

Mid Century glory 2 Single seaters

Elegant classic lines

Timeless beauty

Stunning fabric selection

Our client very astutely chose 2 fabrics, a bold geometric print for the two single chairs and a clasic textured Navy for the 3 seater.

The end result is an elegant yet practical lounge that wont “date” and will remain a firm family favourite in the home for years to come.

In photos ... Our November 2019 Surfboard Making Workshop

There is nothing like ending the year on a high and that is exactly what we accomplished in our November Surfboard Making Workshop.

Its been a brilliant year for learning , we have so enjoyed sharing our knowledge of woodworking and combining it with our passion for surfing. To date we have helped over 160 students create wonderful hollow wooden surfboards. Many of these students have had no woodworking experience whatsoever and yet in 4 productive days they have come away with something wonderful , tangible evidence of their enthusiasm for learning.

Our November class was held just last week November 14 - 17 inclusive and included 2 return students who wanted to expand on their wooden surfboard quiver.

All smiles from Phil, back to make his second wooden surfboard with us

A more exciting use for pegs.

Team work and framwork

Discussion and productivity , getting on with things but still time to chat of course about surfing

Smiley Phil once again showing how happy he is to to be here ! We just love that !

That wonderful feeling of accomplishing a successful glue up

An Eye for detail

The peaceful act of Planeing, an integral part of the finished board

The class of November 19 2019 A beautiful array of boards

Our students showed wonderful team work and enthusiasm over the 4 days and laughs and friendships were made.

We often say it but for us its a privilage to be able teach so many students . The smiles , the look and feeling of accomplishment that each and every student has after their surfboard making workshop makes is so worthwhile for us.

We are already prepping these boards for glassing so our keen students can take their works of art in the water, because not only do our boards look the part , they ride like a dream.

We are keen to continue our learning calendar in 2020 with our New Stand Up Paddle Board classes and of course our ever popular Wooden Surfboard Classes as well .

Our mission to learn and inspire is a big part of what we do here at Bywater Design