E. F. San Juan provided a variety of custom wood products for this stunning home in Tallahassee, Florida, designed by Conn Architects and built by Riley Palmer Construction. This custom home on a large wooded lot features a sprawling floor plan with open spaces and soaring select cypress ceilings and paneling, custom African mahogany cabinetry, custom cypress cabinetry, and more wood features by E. F. San Juan.
CHALLENGES
The homeowner wanted to use as many natural materials as possible in the house’s construction. The interior includes over 12,000 feet of custom cypress millwork on the walls and ceilings, brick flooring, and natural stone, offering warmth and rustic elegance. The large covered porch at the rear of the home provides secluded privacy, overlooking the natural landscape and reflecting the beauty of nature indoors and out. One of the most significant challenges of creating a home with this much natural wood is accounting for the way wood moves and bends over time. Another challenge is choosing different wood materials that will go together and also complement the rest of the house. At E. F. San Juan, our team of expert craftsmen are here to educate clients, assist in decisions about types of wood to use, and implement best practices for creating wood products that will stand the test of time while still looking beautiful in any home or commercial space. We worked with the architect and builder to provide cypress and African mahogany products that are durable and beautiful.
SOLUTIONS
The African mahogany kitchen cabinetry was designed with all flush cabinet doors with concealed battens on the back sides covered by a small mitered box on every cabinet with a hardwood door. Over the long term, these hardwood doors will be able to expand and contract but stay flat. Every mahogany and cypress cabinet in the home has vertically aligned grains, so, from top to bottom, the same boards continue from drawer box to drawer box to create continuity. The gorgeous foyer to this house really shows off cypress paneling we provided. The craftsmen working with Riley Palmer Construction did an expert install, especially impressive where the cypress converges to a point above the entryway to create a beautiful angled ceiling. Some other highlights include the library, where our custom shelving and ladder add character and warmth, and a rustic sink made from a piece of heart cypress that was river recovered, glued, and handcrafted by one of our craftsmen to create an extremely unique conversation piece. The variety of natural wood and stone throughout the home brings a continuity that flows throughout this serene, spa-like house and connects the indoors with the beautiful forest setting outside.
