shoe cabinet & Bench

This shoe cabinet bench was the result of a truly fun collaboration with a client.  They wanted something to store part of their shoe collection while also giving them a place to sit or lay while enjoying the view out of the window. This was a case where the client knew exactly how they wanted it to look and thought it out in advance. I simply walked them through the possibilities to help them work towards their desired end piece.  

The cabinet was to have a rough sawn appearance with a very dark color. The doors were to be dark, but at the same time not as dark as the cabinet carcass so they would be a contrasting element. They wanted the hinges to be visible and have a look as though they belong on a rough sawn piece while the door pulls were to have a sleek, modern look.  

While the cabinet and doors were to have a rough appearance, they wanted it to not be too rough and be somewhat clean to enable it to be used as a bench when they wanted to sit or lay on it to enjoy the view.  To facilitate this, I rounded over all the corners and edges of the cabinet. Also, even with as large as the cabinet is, no mechanical fasteners were used to assemble it.  I did not screw or nail any of the wood pieces together. The only screws used were on the hinges, door pulls, and magnetic door catches.

Since this cabinet is also going to be used as a bench for sitting and laying to relax, the height was important.  It had to come close to the height of the window sill, but not go above it so as to not obstruct the view.  

This photo was taken in my shop after finishing was completed. The lighting shows how dynamic the doors turned out. The client wanted the cabinet to be "dark dark dark".  After I prepared several samples with different stains, dyes, and paint, the client opted to have the cabinet painted "jet black".  To provide a long lasting finish, I sprayed several coats of clear on top of the paint as well as over the dye on the doors. While the doors were milled the same as the wood for the cabinet to give them a rough sawn texture, the doors were finished differently as the client wanted them to "pop".   I selected maple boards that had visually interesting grain patterns. Referring back to the samples I created, the client chose a dye and a technique I use to highlight the grain of the doors.  This technique and dye combination gives the wood color, but still allows the grain to show in a realistic manner.  

Something else to note about the doors, they are what is referred to as inset doors.  These doors sit within the cabinet as opposed to sitting on the outer edges.  This makes for a more visually clean look.

The interior of the cabinet bench features adjustable shelving allowing for different height shoes to be stored inside.  The shelves were milled and finished to match the rest of the cabinet.  This photo also shows the magnetic catches installed under the top to keep the doors closed.

A better view of the left and middle door sections.