For about a year now I have had a work project running in the background.

hall mirror (2).JPG

I was asked by the client to redesign the entrance hallway and utility to their house.

At first glance this does not sound very exciting but if you saw the house you would understand that I was interested.

It is a four story house dated 1899, so right at the end of the Victorian period and the beginning of the Edwardian.

The client is very meticulous with detail but are open to contemporary ideas.

The design had to incorporate;

A utility with cabinets, sink, washing machine and tumble drier.
These were to match the existing kitchen which I made part of. You can read that post here

A coat rack and shoe bench.

A large room divider in oak with stained glass and opening doors (which I had to design as well.)

A small staircase which would lead to the main floor, the rise was only about four foot.

An under stairs cupboard to replace the existing one.

A Hall mirror and shelf.

Any additional trims and features that would aid the design.

I really like getting creative and having a free hand with design and this client was more than happy to pay for that service. This was great considering I had been introduced to them by their builder to make a simple replacement window. I showed the client my portfolio and the rest is history.

This week I will be showing you the various parts that made up the overall design.

The Hall Mirror and shelf.

Today I am going to start of with the smallest piece first.

The Design.

I had to establish the overall design before I could make any finer decisions, but assuming that had been done, the main criteria was and oval bevel edge mirror with hat hooks.

I established the eye level of the mirror first. (He is about 6' and she is about 5' so I let them decide on a perfect height.)

With that information and the rest of the design I came up with a this.

hall mirror.jpg

Although being made in oak it has an Edwardian feel about it and incorporated mouldings which are in the rest of the layout.

Historical periods always have and overlap because whatever was fashionable in London ,for example, at a certain time took a few years to be translated by cabinet makers further a field. It could take years for this to happen and I felt that oak (which I would associate with the arts and crafts movement) worked with the Edwardian look and also the more contemporary main kitchen.

The shelf was simple enough. It was to have rounded edges and leave access to the radiator.

Making the Mirror and shelf.

I made the piece from solid oak.

The oval was made from one piece of oak that I deep cut twice so I could have a 'mirror' image on the grain.

I then jointed it together with biscuits.

The frame was mortise and tenoned and had an ovolo moulding which I had to mitre.

I then set the oval within the frame and glued it together with epoxy resin.

When it had been glued up I rebated it from the back with the router.

Then and only then did I make the template for the mirror.

The panels and mirror were set in the rebates and held in with panel pins.

I would not normally do this but I was restricted for depth and a beading would have been too much.

I used three coats of Fiddes clear glaze to finish it.

Installation.

I first screwed the hat peg board to the wall , making sure the screw holes would be covered by the hat pegs.

I had cut biscuit slots in the top of the hat peg board and the bottom of the main mirror, this allowed for a secret fixing.

The main mirror frame was attached to the wall with brass mirror plates which were covered by the cornice.

The cornice was screwed to the main frame from the top.

The shelf had brackets for support and a subtle rail underneath which was screwed to the wall.

Next time I will be writing about the understairs cupboard and stairs.

We have started a woodworking community here on steemit and would welcome you. We have a discord channel, link here: Woodworking on Steem Discord Channel And a weekly woodworking post competition ,
you can read the post here

If you have any questions about woodwork, furniture or being self employed as a craftsperson let me know.

I know my wood and I have spent years teaching myself furniture making , furniture history as well as living it as a self employed cabinet maker .

I am also in the process of writing a

'How to series: Setting up a Woodworking Business'

Which you can read here;
Part 1: Workshop
Part 2: Tools and machinery
Part 3: Finding a good timber yard
Part 4: Deciding what type of woodwork you are going to do.
Part 5: Advertising and getting customers
Part 6: Dealing with Customers.

Still I am learning every day and the journey is the point.