A Tour

I don’t say a lot about my two kids in the blog pages, figuring they are adults with lives of their own. Yesterday however, we spent about an hour with my son Neil by special invitation taking a look at a new home his company had built. Neil works for a high end custom builder in their cabinet shop and his specialty lately is making closet and cabinet doors and drawers. He has previously sent us photos of his work but those did not show the overwhelming magnificence of his art the way seeing it in person did. 


This home sits in Broken Top, one of Bend’s premiere golf communities so after gaining admittance through the guard shack and weaving the meandering streets we arrived to a home in the final couple months of construction. As Broken Top standards go it’s not terribly large, but the owners are fine wood aficionados who chose with care and used only the finest mahogany, walnut and some exotic species with strong and vibrant grains. 


Personally, to us, it was a little too over the top with the use of so much wood in the fine cabinetry, on all floors excepting for the tile in the bathrooms, and on most ceilings as tongue and groove and huge open beams. Despite that, what really stood out is the artistry of each piece, much of it fashioned by my son.

As we entered through the back door we were greeted by a built-in storage hall piece with a seating bench. Off to the side are the guest bedroom, full bath and laundry room. Note the closet doors with matching grain. My son shows my mother some of the inside cabinet details in the laundry room.

The house, as expected, with so much wood, photographs darkly so my pictures aren’t the best. The kitchen was a little less spectacular than I thought it would be but it did have a nice wet bar area at one end with a large wine fridge and was open to a large informal dining area and the great room. It was mere steps to the inviting back patio with its built-in BBQ, overlooking the lush well-known Broken Top course.

The predominant feature of the living room is the fireplace and spectacular glass front doors. Neil shows Marc some of the detail on his custom made entertainment center which used a rare species of grafted walnut which produces crazy grains, highly valued, and costing $8000 just for the wood.

The use of wood carries through into the office with its built-ins, coffered ceilings, plank flooring and custom made desk, made to match all cabinetry.

Thank you, son, for the tour, but most importantly for letting us see what an artist you have become in working with your hands. It must be a singular feeling to know you have created such beauty and something that will live on for decades of use and enjoyment by the owners and others who will follow in ownership, and will probably marvel at the fine craftsmanship of the cabinetry well into the future.