The not so humble dining table

The dining table, is arguably the most pivotal part of the home .

It provides for so many things…

Its the place for sharing a meal at the end of the day.

Its the place for having that first cup of coffee or the late night tea .

Its the place to fold the washing.

Its the place to work out the budget.

Its the place for a Friday Night Margarita.

its the place for last minute exam cramming.

its the place for planning the next holiday.

Its the place for assembling the birthday cake.

Its the place for sewing .

Its the place for being together.

Its the place to peruse that magazine - finally alone .

The dining table really is the anchor of the home

And the design and look is as different and unique as each family

So when creating a dining table, we understand the important role this plays in the home.

The design and timber options are as vast and varied for a table

Lots of things need to be considered of course, budget tolerances, lifestyle and decor considerations all go into the melting pot of a fabulous dining table.

Our dining tables are created to last, to be passed down from generation to generation where they carry the memories and moments from one family to the next …

Dining Tables

The dining table ; the heart of the home .

Custom made dining table; inlay camphor top, jarrah pinstripe and silver ash border

Featuring our very own Apprentice...

With kind thanks to Afloat Magazine for showcasing our wonderful apprentice Nathan in their current April 2023 issue.

Its a wonderful behind the scenes chat with Nathan, detailing his love of all things timber and the joy he gleams from a job well done.

We are so proud of Nathan and the consistently high standard of work he produces.

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No April Fools here, only amazing Wooden Surfboard Students

With Summer not wanting to say goodbye, our April students were greeted by warm sunny days during the course of their wonderful 4 days.

Coming from the coast and Emerald, our Queendand students bonded quickly over glue ups, sanding and the joy and mindfulness that comes with shaping your own board

Conversations over surfing the best points, and the thrill of chasing the perfect wave gave everyone an extra buzz knowing that riding their own board was not very far away

Time and patience was evident, cutting the skins will make for a perfectly finished boards.

Whats the saying, mark twice cut once ??

The integral glueing and vac pressing component …not to be taken lightly

The all important shaping - a time honured practice that defines the performance of the board (no pressure hey !)

Perfecto

The beautiful finished product

Once again , our wooden surfboard students have shown such high calibre of workmanship and enthusiasm over the last 4 days.

Its been a joy to share the woodwork love and so now its time to glass and bring out the best ih these boards

#lovewhatwedo

March 2023 Woodworking Legends

Last Saturday, our wonderful students completed their timber tables.

Final glue ups were done, sanding assembly and the all important polish was applied.

The end result was 4 beautifully crafted tables.

A credit to our students for being quick enthusiastic learners and producing beautiful timber work

When they're good, they're very very good...

Our woodworking students embrace learning with a passion and the end results are testament to this.

Our students are encouraged to create a table that works for them , their homes, their lifestyle and decor preferences, so as you can see each piece is as wonderful and individual as our students

For something a little different, a custom made cot

When you have beautiuful redgum timber and you have a newborn - then it makes perfect sense (well to us )to have a gorgeous solid timber cot made from that wonderful australian hardwood.

The cot will be a history in the making - a wonderful heirloom to pass down through the generations.

The impressive slabs were brought to the workshop for us to work our magic

thicknessed , sanded made into rails were just a few of the processes to bring this beautiful piece of furniture to life

the all important polishing work begins

the beautiful finished product

resplendent red gum

Our beautiful red gum cot has exceeded our clients’ expectations.

It was a pleasure to be able to provide such an integral piece of furniture to this growing family

Repolishing

Sometimes furniture doesnt need a major overhaul, just some tlc and a wonderful repolish to bring back the orginal lustre and a depth of colour that time and the elements have worn away.

From rattan to timber, a beautiful repolish makes the world of difference

Beautiful results ensue from our repolishing projects.

We love the fact that our clients are thrilled to use their existing furniture, and that we can repair and repolish to bring it back to beautiful for many years to come

The 2023 Hobart Wooden Boat Festival - and thats a wrap

And just like that, we are back from the Hobart wooden boat festival and what an utterly fabulous four days it was.

It was privilege and an honour to be able to share our love of all things wooden boat craft with people from across the globe - from American cruise passengers to the german backpackers , everyone wanted to touch and feel the shiny wooden surfboards and to take photos - gosh there were a lot of photos taken :)

The Hobart locals made us so welcome and it was so good to see so many fellow Brisbanites who made the journey for the festival .

Our sold out workshops ran smoothly and gave our keen students a taste of creativity and accomplishment . Students ranged from 7 to 77 and each students successfully completed their boards and were keen to get them out in the water as soon as possible.

It was a whirlwind wonderful 3 week adventure.

We are so lucky to live in one of the most beautiful parts of the world

Coles Bay

Tasmania you are beautiful and we will be back

Bywater Design is on the road ... To the Wooden Boat Festival

Culminating in our love of all things timber we are thrilled to have been invited to the Wooden Boat Festival in glorious Hobart Tasmania.

Over four days the most beautiful timber boats in the Southern Hesmisphere will be exhibited along with special events and exhibtions .

We are proud to be a part of the festivities and will be running Creating a Wooden Handboard for Bodysurfing workshops.

In just a few hours our students can make and take home a super efficient hand board …

We are excited to bring our love of wooden surfcraft to Hobart and stoked that we only have a few spots left for this wonderful event

If you are in this beautiful part of the world , please pop in and say hi

Happy Sailng

Daniele and Stuart

Australian Wooden Boat Festival

The colours of summer

With steamy summer days mixed in with the occasional storm , mother nature is giving up lots to be thankful for

Those first blooms of frangipanis are always a welcome sight

Witht the longer days and the changing light , there is opportunity for some beautiful sunset moments

Cloudy days make for perfect sunsets …

the magestic fanlike appearance of the Poinciana tree

You know Christmas is around the corner, when the showtoping Poinciana trees begin to flower.

Their beautiful fan like appearance make for wonderful shade , reminds me to slow down and just enhale the beauty of mother nature .

Surf’s up for sunny summer with our wooden surfboards

Dont be fooled by our tongue twister title …

We are gearing up for a cool blue sunny summer (fingers and toes crossed)

slice of paradise

Any opportunity this season you can find us at the beach, surfing or sup’ing dependant on the (lack of) waves and so we want our wooden board students to enjoy the stoke as much as we do so we are putting the final coats of glassing onto our student boards from our last class.

Our students have put in the hours and produced simply beautiful hollow wooden surfboards.

We cant wait for our new students to feel that ultimate experience of riding a wave in a board that they have made themselves …

create your own stoke

Adored and Restored

Restoration provides a chance to recover a neglected , forgotten piece of furniture.

Or improve or alter the function of a piece of furniture for eg, modify a table for its new surrounds, repolish a chair to give it new life -or to match its decor

The options are endless when it comes to restoration , using existing furniture and turning it into something wonderful is a fabulous concept that assists in minimising our ever growing throw away mentality as well as honing in on sentimental value.

Restoring a piece of furntiure that holds sentimental value , making those precious child hood memories come alive is one of the best things we can do for ourselves .

Restoration provides us the restorer with so much satisfaction as well; from hearing the back story of a piece, feeling the depth of its sentimental worth and then repairing , restoring , repolishing that piece of furniture, knowing that its journey is not over, we are just providing the tools for its longevity.

And when the work is complete, seeing the joy and happiness from our clients’ makes it all the worthwhile.

Our lovey Japanese Low table has been beautifully restored

Kitchen pine chair looks amazing after we removed the old existing paint

this 1940’s typewriter cover bought over from Hamburg has been in the family since then and is now ready to hand over to the next generation

Just a few of the beautiful pieces that we are thrilled to be able to restore

#lovewhatwedo

A gift to last a lifetime...

Our client came to us with a vision of creating a beautiful keepsake for his groomsmen.

A personal and unique way of saying “thankyou”.

A timeless present that would always be a reminder of such a happy occasion .

What better way to encaputure this than a beautiful keepsake “treasure” box, a gift that that will evoke pure delight and joy.

Our classic styled boxes are made from solid rosewood and designed to house watches, cufflinks and other personal effects.

The makings of something beautiful

Of course there will be dovetails

Adding that personal touch

To make these boxes a little more special we lasered each of the groomsmen’s initials along with a personal message to really capture the wonder of the occasion.

those glorious details make all the difference

Each box carefully assembled and polished

Each box a unique and personal heirloom

Handcrafted with care

A beautiful and thoughtful gift to last a lifetime

#lovewhatwedo

October Wooden Surfboard Workshop

Our last workshop for 2022 ( how can that be already ?) and what a wonderful 4 days it was …

Our students came and bonded over glue ups, sanding and shaping .

Each student prior to class chose the board style and shape according to their personal preferences, which makes the creative journey all the more sweeter as the board they are making is entirely what they want !

Escaping into the moment of shaping

Team work = Fun times

always room for a laugh

We were stoked to be able to have Scott our Mates helping Mates winner in this class.

Scott generously dontated to our flood appeal and was the lucky drawn winner who won entry into our Surfboard Making competition . It was great to be able to welcome Scott back to the “board room”

The October Crew

At the end of the 4 days, our wonderful team had worked hard to create their beautiful boards.

Its now time for the glassing, where Stuart will put the “icing on the cake” for these boards and really let them shine

The October Graduates

It is always a joy to share our passion and knowledge of woodworking and to be able to make new friends along the creative journey is one of the most satisfactory parts of what we do

Mid century Stereo Cabinet

Inspired by the clean lines of the Mid Century , we created this beautiful Rosewood Stereo Cabinet…

Simple in design but big on style , there is room for the all important vinyl collection and all the other media components that culiminate in a beautiful sound experience

Simple elegance

Sometimes, things dont have to be complicated …

Restoration of our European Beech Lounge

Our beautiful Euro beech lounge , we designed and made well over 10 years ago, has stood the test of time.

Its weathered the weather, a growing family , treasured pooches and now with a move to an inner city apartment, it was time for a little makeover to bring it into the now.

With a beautiful Lilac fabric , the original fabric on this lounge was the perfect addition to this Traditional Queenslander home

The airy fabric provides a beautiful backdrop to this sun filled room and accentuates the classic design of the lounge .

By changing the fabric, the whole dynamic and ambience of the lounges changes …

New fabric with a classic clean look is a wonderful accompanient to the fresh outdoor view.

With a subtle nod to the nautical, it strikes the perfect balance of sophistication and practicality.

A fresh new look for an existng lounge.

Re upholstery is a wise choice, it provides a fresh new look to a favourite piece of furniture.

The making of a special Hi Fi Cabinet

Zebrano ( or Zebrawood) is a stunning hardwood timber so named for its distinctive stripes and was the timber of choice for our recent custom made Hi Fi Cabinet.

Dating back to 1773 from West Africa this timber with its pale and dark stripes give a visual impact to any furniture item

To compliment the Zebrano we used Massacar Ebony veneers, it is also known as Golden Ebony for the black stripes overlaying golden tones.

With two rich exotic timbers, we knew this cabinet was going to be something special.

The Macassar Ebony veneers, with those gorgeous contrasting stripes

The sheer beauty of Zebrano timber.

The design features included fold back front doors

Waterfall top - side grains matching

brass front edges

satin finish with uv protector

Push close doors

Brass on front shelf details and designed with the surrounding aesthetics top of mind …

A sophisticated additon to the loungeroom

Those beautiful waterfall matching grains . Beauty in the detail

The brass edges give an added depth of glamour to the internal shelves

When the inside looks just as good as the outside

With a rich combination of warm exotic hues and warm blonde tones our Hi Fi Cabinet was made not just for its beautiful looks but to house Hi Fi components for the ultimate in sophisticated sounds

. A timber heirloom for the ages and the ears

And a new season begins ...

The first day of spring, a reminder of how wonderful change can be.

New life, new colours, new sights and sounds .

We are a fan !

Our Winter Wooden Surfboard Making Workshop

Making the most of the of the sunny winter days ( a rarity at the moment ) we welcomed our 5 surfboard students who came from all parts of Queensland to enjoy 4 days of learning and fun with us.

Our students chose their pattern and board sizes prior to class , ensuring they would be making the board that not only appealed aesthically but a board they could comfortably ride in many conditions.

The first days were spent glueing up ribs and rails and making sure there were no pegs lost in the process :)

The all important glueing of the skins followed by a night of rest for our hardworking students who were on the go the whole day prepping for this important time

Shaping the frames - an integral part of the board making process, precision counts

After four days of woodworking love our eager hardworking students emerged with their very own beautiful timber surfbards, lovingly made with their own hands . Many of our students have no woodworking experience but after the 4 days the acomplishment and happiness levels were high.

A job well done !!

Congratulations to our students who have made their own Hollow Timber Surfboard