17th to 18th Century European Wardrobe Cabinets Reproduced

*Above: The reproduced piece I made recently. The original piece, seen below, did not have a space for a TV screen.*

I had worked with a client who is very artistic. She likes to combine antique styles along with contemporary styles and does so very effectively.

About 20 years ago she came to me with a picture of a 17th to 18th century European wardrobe cabinet that she had found and asked if I could reproduce it. That sort of project is right up my alley and I jumped at the chance to work with her on this.

The piece is heavily carved on all sides with hand-forged hinges, and latches. The finish in the photograph was very worn and she wanted me to be able to reproduce that finish. It also had mirror in it that was old and dark spotted due to de-silvering (or what is often called a foxed mirror, the name originating from the brownish fox-like coloration) and she wanted that look as well.

So I made shop drawings like I usually do and then full scale sketches that she approved. We selected a wood that would match the photograph that she provided and I started to work. It was a lot of detail and a lot of fun to make and hand carve a very detailed piece of furniture and then also hand forge all the hardware, distress the mirror and put everything together. I made samples that she approved and finished everything and delivered it to her house. She loved it so much that 18 years later she asked if I could make another wardrobe cabinet on the opposite wall to match. I loved working on the first one and was excited to make another for her. It turned out beautiful and the matching cabinets were a great addition to her room.

17th to 18th Century European Wardrobe Cabinets Reproduced

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