Client: Blaise and Cali Gaston

Overview

The scope of this project was to design and build our house as well as most of the furniture.

Goals

Our goals were to create a beautiful home that we would love to live in and be open enough to entertain a lot of friends at one time. We also wanted to be able to use it as a gallery for my furniture and art. We like large open spaces and wanted many windows so we would always feel the presence of the many trees and rock outcroppings. The downstairs is basically one 40 foot square room with many windows. It is a beautiful and calming space.

Process

This project has been going on for 25 years. Having ones self as the client has been wonderful and at times frustrating. I have built art furniture for 40 years and have never had a client as picky as I am. Being able to live in the space and study a project for as long as I wanted has allowed me to do many things one could not do with a client. We lived with an unfinished entry and countless designs for 17 years until I decided on a design and built the doors, and then 8 years later I motorized the doors so all one does is touch the frame of a painting and they open. The sycamore root/sofa took 7 years before it was in the house and I am still designing a proper seat for it. I usually make one extra chair when I make a set for a client so we have an eclectic set of dining chairs. We have collected art from many friends and are running out of space to display it.

Additional Information

We had four good friends help us build the shell of the house and have spent the last 24 years finishing and furnishing it. Building our home is one of the highlights of my life.