A request for the installation of a sophisticated front entryway came into the NEWwoodworks team—a door that not only welcomed visitors, but also emitted a feeling of grounding and balance. 

The client ‘s inspiration for their door was science, specifically the Fibonacci sequence, also known as the “golden ratio.” The golden ratio occurs organically in nature, and has historically been influential in architecture, engineering, and technology. Natural shapes born from the ratio can be witnessed in galaxies and DNA strands. They also exist at a micro level in flowers, shells and fingerprints. The designs exist in an array of clockwise and counterclockwise reciprocal spirals. The client was also inspired by a scientific journal piece titled Helix of the Heart, where the golden ratio and its connection to the shapes inside of the human heart were examined. 

Josh Savior design engineer at NEWwoodworks shared, “For this project the clients came to us with multiple designs and I kind of glommed them together and made one of my own that catered to what they wanted.

And so, the design for a golden ratio, a door from the heart, began. Savior, continued, “The whole thing is based around the golden ratio, so I figured out what the ratio was, and I drew that, and saw how it would fit onto a door. You have to compromise some things, the glass must be curved, the shape of the door has to be curved in some aspect. And we had to spill over into the sidelights. You see how it feels, not just how it looks.

What was essentially a standard door at its core, would be differentiated by its special curvatures, shapely lines and custom look. NEWwoodworks shop lead Charlie Bartholomew said, Doors are all boxes, but different shapes. All doors start out basic, it fits in the frame, you have square pieces, rectangles, the joinery is similar. What’s different here is the extra curves. They’re curves, but not lineal curves, they are flowing curves. Every bit of this door is sort of a standard thing-except for everything is different. Trying to get all the pieces to fit the same but working with curved pieces. The overall look of it is truly unique.” 

Styled after a classic Rocky Mountain lodge, this lake home in Virginia is designed for family, fun, and getting away from the stresses of daily life.

"The homeowner came into this project with a very clear vision and wanted to craft a thoughtful, fun space for his family with natural heavy timbers and lots of lake views,” explained Architect Peter Heintzelman, AIA LEED G.A. “There were a lot of big ideas expressed throughout this lodge, and we enjoyed playing those up to create a dynamic family environment." 

Featuring a full structural Douglas fir timber frame, the home contains a number of whimsical elements like a three-story glass enclosed elevator, underground wine room, Jamaican style bar, a home theater, and a number of nooks that house vintage arcade games.

When the owners of this recently completed lakefront residence began their journey to build a custom timber frame home in the Finger Lakes, they relied on the experience and comprehensive design + build services offered by New Energy Works, based in nearby Farmington New York.

For over thirty years New Energy Works has been crafting sustainably minded timber frame homes throughout the Finger Lakes region. In that time their expertise and service offerings have grown to include in-house Architects, interior designers, and general contracting/ construction as well as a fine woodworking division known as NEWwoodworks, and their sister company Pioneer Millworks – who manufacture reclaimed and sustainable wood products, all of which were utilized to construct this one-of-a-kind home.

The homeowners came to the project with a previous connection to New Energy Works through the company’s fine woodworking division, who had done extensive remodeling work for them on a different property in the past. But building a brand-new home on one of the Finger Lakes can present unique challenges, which Architect Kyle Barber RA, CPHC – the head of New Energy Works design team knows all too well.

On a recent episode of the Digital Supply Chain podcast, host Tom Raftery sat down with our founder & CEO Jonathan Orpin to discuss his journey helping to revolutionize the timber and construction industry with a staunch commitment to sustainability.

The episode dives deep into how New Energy Works incorporates an eco-friendly approach to our projects, often focusing on the use of reclaimed and sustainably harvested wood in partnership with our sister company Pioneer Millworks.

See the interview on YouTube:  https://youtu.be/kNPvRjzPLx8
 

See more from Digital Supply Chain:  The Future of Building: Sustainability and Innovation with Jonathan Orpin (digitalsupplychainpodcast.com)

Framed by rolling farmland hills in the foreground, and the majestic Blue Ridge Mountain range in the background, this 22-acre farm property features an Irish inspired stone & heavy timber barn as well as a port cochere entry/ farm office building, all designed and built in less than a year.

“This barn is on a 22-acre small farm, and there is no residence on the property,” the property owner shared. “I have always wanted a barn like this, and it’s not really any more complicated than that. I bought this property almost a decade ago, and there was only a small storage shed building on the land, it was always part of my plans to build something like this.”

Ep. 178 - Triple Bottom Line with Jonathan Orpin

In this episode of Contractor Radio host Jim talks with our CEO and Founder Jonathan Orpin about operating a business sustainably on multiple fronts by implementing the Triple Bottom Line Company model.

Jim and Jonathan discuss why the triple bottom line emphasizes people AND profits. They turn their discussion toward aging out of your business sustainably by creating an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) that rewards your workers with ownership and leaves the former owner/founder with a sense that their company is in good hands.

In the second part of the episode Jim and Jonathan dig into the flexible definition of sustainability. They have a great talk on what it means to focus as much energy and resources into stewarding the planet as generating profit.

See more:

Recently our team completed a unique general contracting project in the Finger Lakes region of New York. The lake front homes interior was designed by Brooke Wagner Design, a celebrated full service design firm based in Corona del Mar California, and features extensive fine woodworking that was crafted by our NEWwoodworks team.

We caught up with Rob D’Alessandro who manages our woodworking division to talk about collaborating with a well-respected interior designer and the trends and challenges of high-craft woodwork in modern custom home design.

Q: What different kinds of woodwork did the NEWwoodworks team craft or this project?

A: For this project our team fabricated and finished all the cabinetry throughout the home as well as the stairs, railing, doors (inside and out), built-in storage, some of the counter tops, and elements of the screened in porches.

Q: How closely did the NEWwoodworks team collaborate with the interior designer on this project?

Our friends at Rochester Home Magazine honored us with a detailed cover editorial featuring our east coast design team.

Written by Helana Shumway

Project photos by Tim Wilkes

Read the whole issue online: September//October 2023 Rochester HOME Magazine by Featured Media - Issuu

Recently our fine woodworking division NEWwoodworks was involved in the renovation of a unique guesthouse on a property in New York State. The project reunited our team with Brad Hall of Element Design Build, our former long-time construction manager, whose team was heading up the homes redesign and renovation.

We caught up with Rob D’Alessandro who manages our woodworking division to talk about the unique look the woodworking took on during the remodel of the home, and how collaborating with trusted long-time partners on a project can lead to outstanding results.

Q: How did this project get started and what made it unique for NEWwoodworks ?

This New Energy Works project in North Georgia recently appeared in a feature editorial by our friends at Log & Timber Home Living in the August 2023 Waste Not Want Not issue, which focuses on sustainable modern home designs.

Featuring an interview with our own David Shirley AIA, NCARB from our west coast team, the sweeping feature touches on almost every aspect of this New Energy Works project including design, timber frame, and high-performance enclosures.

Photos by Garey Gomez

“Lighting is an important part of designing a home from the inside out. Low voltage accent lighting highlights architectural features while stylistic fixtures identify the gathering spaces.” -Diana Gerken 

When Mark and his wife set out to craft a timber frame home in central New York State, the journey started with finding the right piece of country real estate to build on. Once they had acquired the land to develop, it became time to design their new family home.

“During the design process we often ask ourselves: How will they know where to go? Here the main entry is called attention to by a trellised walking path from the face of the garage to an expressive covered entry, which extends to be the most prominent extension on the main facade.” - Kyle Zinteck, RA New Energy Works

“We customed designed our home, so it is exactly what we wanted. My wife and I are not youthful anymore, so we had a clear idea of what we needed for the next 25 years or so,” Mark shared. “We have a large extended family, so we designed the house around our need to host large groups of people to accommodate our family when they visit.”

“The main entrance is substantiated with stone walls on either side of the door to support the timber porch that draws guests in to a custom NEWwoodworks door. Taking inspiration from a previous New Energy Works project that the homeowners loved, we designed this Douglas fir door with transom and sidelights in a finish that blends harmoniously with the timber color and stained cedar siding.” -Diana Gerken 

Recently our fine woodworking division NEWwoodworks was involved in the renovation of a timber frame home that New Energy Works raised 20+ years ago in New York State. The project reunited our team with Brad Hall of Element Design Build, our former long-time construction manager, whose team was heading up the homes redesign and renovation.

We caught up with Rob D’Alessandro who manages our woodworking division to talk about the unique modern look the woodworking took on during the remodel of the home.

Q: How was this renovation project unique for the NEWwoodworks team?

A: This is a fairly unique project in terms of the way the design team on the renovation included some very specific elements that the homeowner had used in the past on other properties they own, incorporating that style into home. The result is a very modern look that our NEWwoodworks team had a lot of fun with.

(585) Magazine recently covered one of our favorite recent Design + Build projects in the Finger Lakes Region of New York. This project combined all our related services, Timber Frame, Design + Build, HPEz, fine woodworking from NEWwoodworks, and our sister company Pioneer Millworks.

More from (585): (585) magazine - Rochester, NY (585mag.com)

Related Content:

Long-Term Lake Front | New Energy Works

Natural materials for a custom home: Design Q&A | Pioneermillworks

Project Credits:

Architect: New Energy Works

Builder: New Energy Works, High-Performance Enclosure: New Energy Works

Engineer: Fire Tower Engineered Timber 

Reclaimed Wood: Pioneer Millworks 

This New Energy Works project in North Georgia was recently featured in a feature editorial by our friends at Green Building + Design Magazine (GB+D) in the “Warmth of Wood” Winter 2022 issue that focuses on sustainable modern designs and the beauty & practicality of wood in the design + build industry.

Featuring an interview with our own David Shirley AIA, NCARB from our west coast team, the sweeping feature touches on almost every aspect of New Energy Works including design, timber frame, high-performance enclosures, fine woodworking from NEWwoodworks, and reclaimed wood from our sister company Pioneer Millworks.   

Written by MIRIAH HAMRICK 

Photos by Garey Gomez

DiBella’s Old Fashions Subs is a chain of sandwich shops on the East Coast that traces its roots back to 1918. Founded near our Farmington NY campus in the nearby town of Henrietta, the chain now operates over 40 locations in five states.

Their flagship Italian Market store is still located in the town of Henrietta and our fine woodworking division NEWwoodworks recently built a series of heavy timber craftsmen style tables, butcher block counters, and booth tabletops for the shop out of reclaimed Heart Pine timbers provided by our sister company Pioneer Millworks.

“This was one of the first jobs I worked on when I started working for NEWwoodworks. Putting these tables together and being part of the entire process was really meaningful to me. I had never done any kind of large woodworking joinery before and leaning about how to do that was really rewarding,” shared Shawn, a new member of our fine woodworking division who worked on the project.

Affectionately referred to as “Trout Point” by the homeowners, the timber framed addition to this family home was built with recreation at heart. Seamlessly integrating with the existing house, the bar and game room is a place where the homeowners and their friends can kick back and relax while enjoying Keuka Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. 

Featuring a custom woodworked bar, dart board, wine storage area and integrated shuffleboard court crafted by NEWwoodworks, this space allows for year-round fun with family and friends. The entire project allowed for creative expression in its design and execution with results that the homeowners describe as a dream come true.

Because of the homeowner’s willingness to freely embrace the talents of the design and build teams they assembled for the project; these clients are regarded by everyone who has played a role in the addition as dream clients for creating an atmosphere where creativity could flourish, and partnerships thrived. We caught up with a few of the key players who shared their experience on this most beloved of projects.

“How many blocks did you say?!” My face must have shown my surprise as Charlie chuckled at me, staring down on custom wall panels in our fine woodworking shop. At this point they were ready for shipping, so while not fully assembled, the undulating wave of dimensional blocks of colors was none the less impressive. 4000 (yes, 4000) at 5 varying heights was the answer. In all—12 different colors, each expertly applied and finished by Hans in his otherworldly looking finishing room. 

Poplar, Maple, and Douglas fir were used for this “Pixel Wall” art project. Completed, it is 7’ tall by 18’ spanning behind a reception counter in a newly built apartment complex in New Jersey. Balongue Design brought our team this project, including the specific colors but no specific pattern. That was up to the creativity of NEWwoodworks. We love when they have creative freedom!

We often say that the land, the building site, teaches us how to design the home. This is simplistic. There are many inputs that are needed to start the design process, including:

Who will live here?

What is their lifestyle?

What are their tastes? Their loves? Their feelings about Home?

What are the needs and have-to-haves?

What is the budget?
 

Businesses around the country were forced to make significant changes to how they operate in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. When our friends at the Benedictine Brewery called with a need to raise an outdoor pavilion for their customers, we were happy to jump into action.

 One of only three breweries in the United States owned and operated by monks, the Benedictine brewery raising in 2017 was a community effort and one that we will always remember.  You can catch up on that story and watch a video of 100 folks hoisting the frame here: (https://newenergyworks.com/blog/a-community-raising-the-benedictine-brewery-mt-angel-oregon)

Designed to mimic the original brewery and taproom with their close to 14,000 board feet of Douglas fir, we created the structure of the pavilion with matching embellishments, using chamfered edges and a clear, natural finish to the wood.  Just as the original raising started in 2017, the Douglas fir timbers quickly defined the shape of the pavilion and now serve as a way for the brewery to continue serving as a welcoming way for the community to gather, taste, and believe.

Tucked into Puget Sound in Washington, this site allows the homeowners to feed their passions: boating, family time, and entertaining. Easy access for boats and creating spaces large enough to house large family and friends gatherings drove the design, secondary only to the desire for a “refined lodge” aesthetic.

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Known as a full timber frame, the entirety of the home and garage were crafted with timbers, specifically reclaimed Douglas fir timbers. When plans began, the design was quite traditional. “The more we looked at the site and the possible views, the more it transitioned, evolved,” explained David Shirley, AIA, member of our design team. “We angled the house in a soft arc of sorts which maximized views of the Sound as well as those of the Cascade Mountain range in the distance.” This change capitalized on the views and the natural wrap of the land.

We’re excited share more of the story on our long-time banking partner, LNB (Lyons National Bank), and their newest community branch which we raised just up the road from our Farmington, NY shop.

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The first bent is raised for the new LNB Farmington NY branch, early 2020. Photo (C) Jim Kerins.

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While the branch is quickly heading towards completion, we wanted to re-cap some of the processes involved in getting there:

LNB has a focus on people and is always very involved in the local communities, ethos that parallel our own. The Farmington branch site includes a historic home that is being preserved and refreshed. A new timber frame, connecting to the historic home, will accommodate the bank’s main operations.

The kitchen has often been called the ‘heart of the home’. With so many folks currently spending abundant time in their homes, we’ve become aware of a growing desire to update or overhaul this essential room. 

“Why a custom kitchen…” Rob D’Alessandro, general manager of our fine woodworking group, NEWwoodworks, mused. “Well, we like to tailor the kitchen to exactly what the client wants and needs. If we can match, and hopefully enhance, the way they cook, serve, eat, entertain, and live, then they will use, enjoy, and make more good memories at home.”

Over the last 200 years, our culture has gone from one room cabins where gathering around the hearth was simply a way of life, to the affluent days of the butler’s pantry and galley kitchen separate from the dining/social areas of the home, to a revival of the central hearth concept appearing today in the form of ‘open plan living’.

The March 24th 2020 raising date is quickly approaching for the Lyons National Bank – Farmington NY branch. Our craftsmen are putting finishing touches on the timbers for the barn-inspired timber frame bank:

Andy (below) was explaining–to the camera–the layout process which includes double-checking length, joinery, coding, and more, plus applying notes for all the hand touches that happen to each timber in the frame.

Designing a home, timber frame or other, is a very personal endeavor full of desires, questions, needs, and dreams. Through communication and concentrated craftsmanship, a physical form is developed, a shelter that will be “home”, hopefully for generations to come. Each custom project brings our team new experiences from overall site planning to materials and finishes. This month finds us in close connection with a couple who are looking for a relaxed and secluded single-level home for their land in central New York. Diana, one of our design team members, created a fly-through tour of the home and adjacent barn renderings:

Above: Architectural design software helps our teams produce images and videos with textures and color which help homeowners ‘experience’ their plans in a more realistic 3D perspective.

The fly-through begins with a view of the entry side of the home and barn/garage to the right. As the approach begins, exterior materials take form: cedar shakes and stone cladding on the home and board & batten with cedar accents on the barn. Turning to the right, we enter the end of the barn/garage into the “man cave”. This auxiliary space is high and open with the steeply sloped ceiling that will be supported by custom bow-string trusses. Reclaimed Oak will flow from the back wall across the ceiling, emphasizing the open height and contrasting with the deep-toned trusses.

The finishing touches are complete! This timber frame lake home in the Finger Lakes started with our design team and wrapped up with our build team over the Summer:

“New Energy Works (NEW) has done a phenomenal job for our family from the design concept to the finished lake house. In the very beginning, the team made a point to learn what was important to us and what we envisioned. Throughout the process, NEW made sure those things that were important to us were their focus.” – Jim and Tina, homeowners.

The home has quickly become the hub of family gatherings for multiple generations. Open in a 180-degree expanse, on a point locally known as Allen’s Point, our design group explained that the home’s layout is intended to make the most of the sweeping lake views.

Located on a point, expansive lake views can be enjoyed from nearly every space within this home. Our teams are always thinking efficiency–this home includes our High-Performance Enclosure system and high-efficiency mechanicals. Photo (c) Scott Hemenway.

Mod: modern, stylish, cutting-edge. A term–and design aesthetic–we’ve encountered with frequency across our offerings, including in our fine woodworking projects.

Often the resulting creations have straight wood grain, right angles, clean lines, and low profile hardware. Fine woodworking has a great capacity to embrace mod details that go beyond these standards to include various materials, textures, and designs. Mod influence can stand on its own or in combination with traditional styles. Our team at NEWwoodworks enjoys testing their capabilities in kitchen cabinetry and more. It’s commonplace to find a project’s cabinetry needs are much greater than the kitchen alone. It takes many forms: built-ins, bookcases, buffets, entertainment centers, closet organization, vanities, and more.

With divisions in design, timber framing, and woodworking, along with a sister company that specializes in reclaimed wood and timbers, collaboration is something that happens often at New Energy Works. Now and again there are projects that highlight when we’ve really had everyone involved, often realized at the close of the job where things have gone smoothly and everyone stands back with a beer to say, “hell yes.”

Muji at Hudson Yards in New York City is one of those projects of collaboration. Pioneer Millworks brought the project to us after working with Muji’s design team to get just the right reclaimed timbers for the store’s aesthetic.

“The Hudson Yard’s store is a really interesting mix of clean, neutral tones with these rugged salvaged textures,” says Jered Slusser, Northeast sales for Pioneer Millworks. “The walls are clad in American Prairie Brown Board which continues to play up that contrast.”

Reclaimed as-found industrial timbers from a military base in New England, some of the roughest we’ve seen, were what the design team was aiming for. The timbers were needed in very specific sizes, with original patina on all four sides and a consistent tone/texture from piece to piece—a task Pioneer Millworks was able to meet.

Transitioning from public to private space, from one level to another, from inside to outside: the staircase. We enjoy the creativity that can be expressed in the functional and essential staircase. Stairs are like furniture that flows, curving, lifting, descending; solid, floating, short, or lengthy…and always dependable.

Our fine woodworkers and our designers think of stairs as sculptural and architectural elements. Often a focal point in the home the options for customization are many. Materials, shape, location, and integration with the frame.

Rob D’Alessandro, General Manager of NEWwoodworks, our fine woodworking division, shares, “Stairs are always a challenge, but fitting them within a timber frame adds a whole new element. Proportion: the scale of the stair components so as not to be dwarfed by the heavy timbers. Integration: joining into the frame itself. Material choices: not all wood species are durable and aesthetically pleasing with Douglas fir timbers. There may be other elements, such as metal details that relate the staircase to the timber frame. These are just a handful of the considerations when creating each staircase.”

The owners of this timber frame lakeside retreat enjoyed the original lake farmhouse on the site for many years. When it became apparent that their beloved lake house had outlived its use, they made the bittersweet decision to deconstruct it in favor of a new home.

The land, the lake, and home’s impact there was a driving force in the design. Our design team started with respecting the local vernacular and maintaining existing trees and then included advanced enclosure and mechanical systems, FSC-certified® and reclaimed wood flooring and siding, roofing made of recycled wood fiber and rubber, and a geothermal heat system—all resulting in energy efficiency and reduced environmental impact.

In keeping with local vernacular, the road side facia of this cottage home is modest and welcoming.

Flat track doors, also known as barn doors, are a great way to add an industrial design element into a space. They’re space savers and a form of functional wall art. Jay, door guru, and Rob, general manager, of our fine woodworking division NEWwoodworks, gave us some insight into custom track doors:

Start with wood: “You can do a lot more with wood than you can with metal or fiberglass,” explained Jay. “There is so much more character and story in wood than any other material. Wooden doors fulfill our biophilic desire; they’re tactile, interactive, and functional.”

Flat tracks are top hung systems employing a top rail or mounted track above the door opening. A pair of hangers are assembled to the specific door (thickness, width, and weight of the door are all considered). A second bottom track/rail, subtle bottom guide fins, or cradle fins are employed to help maintain the door’s vertical alignment with the wall.

Deep in our core there is a desire to continually learn and expand our capabilities so our clients receive the highest level of craftsmanship…always with obsessive attention to detail. Our fine woodworking group, NEWwoodworks, has some of the most woodcraft obsessed folks you’ll ever meet and they love a new challenge. Enter CNC technology. As this technology has evolved, the NEWwoodworks team has pushed the capabilities of their 3-axis CNC router to better meet their high expectations.

Stepping up NEWwoodworks already notable capabilities is “Thelma”, a Thermwood CNC MTR-30 5×10 3-axis router. Much of their work is done with reclaimed timbers and board stock so a raised z-axis to accommodates the larger timber stock, additional table reinforcement and stiffer axes to aid in cutting denser material and an upgraded vacuum table to make complex jigging and complicated hold-downs easier and faster are all incorporated into the CNC.

“Jonathan, et al…

As I write out the final check for Invoice #9, it seems the right moment to pen a note of appreciation for the bundle of work, energy, and creativity that we currently reside in. It is not lost on us for a moment that we discovered NEW at a moment in time that was just right for everyone; Rocio stumbled onto your website looking for a builder of ‘barn homes’ and was immediately captured by the concepts and pics displayed. Everything seemed to line up:  small house, close to shop, (relatively) simple design, similar vision, seasonal timing, etc. to enable you all to pull off an amazing, wonderful, beautiful, efficient, stunning, one-of-a-kind home for us.

It is quite difficult to express the deep sense of gratitude we feel towards everyone that contributed to the Jewel…many of which I don’t have the ability to send this to, or even be able to name. The artistic, creative flair combined with real-life practicality is a major component of our place we will love for many years to come.

Please pass on our thanks to everyone that was involved. We look forward to visits from any and all as time goes by.

Sincerely,

Phil and Rocio

Dayton, Oregon”

It is common that entry doors are welcoming and often specially designed and crafted. Barn doors and other big doors can be equally as special and additionally functional. Jay, door guru at NEWwoodworks, our fine woodworking division, has a special affinity for the challenge and resulting statement of big barn doors. “Arches, strap hinges, the visual and textural warmth of wood–it’s fun crafting barn doors that make a big statement and are unquestionably functional.”

Barn doors can be fully customized though they often follow tradition with plank, Z, double Z, X, double X, and framed styles using strap hinges or flat tracks.

“We’ve crafted a number of larger folding doors. Assembly can be tricky but the resulting open entries with neatly collapsed doors nested to the side is well worth the effort.”

A short walk across the parking lot from the main office is the shop for our fine woodworking division, NEWwoodworks. While the walk stretches the legs, wandering through their space feeds every type of woodcraft obsession. On a recent visit to the shop, I was drawn to a thick live-edge slab, smoothly finished and awaiting shipment to its new home as a bar top. This led me to Rob, manager of NEWwoodworks for a chat about how this group of skilled woodworkers arrives at happy hour creations:

The feel of that smooth finish still bright in my mind I asked, what are the biggest driving factors in determining material and finish for commercial (specifically bar or restaurant) projects? “Usage and aesthetics,” Rob replied. “A huge variety of personalities, of feel and atmosphere, can be achieved with wood—both in the specific grade used, and the style when crafting it.”

Doors are the transitional pieces, the welcoming elements, the room dividers, the barriers against intrusion—be it weather or other diversions. A highly-crafted door is designed to function flawlessly and be in service for decades.

While chatting about the overall presence a home has—how it speaks to family, visitors, and neighbors alike—entry doors became a pointed topic. This sparked a more in-depth conversation with our fine woodworking division, NEWwoodworks general manager, Rob, and Jay, the team’s door guru.

Entry doors, barn doors, interior doors, flat track doors—NEWwoodworks crafts them all. What drives passion for wooden entry doors? Aesthetics, customization, tradition…Jay explained, “You can do a lot more with wood than you can with metal or fiberglass. Yes, they can at times be more expensive and may require more maintenance, but that door is going to be the first thing your guests will see and touch when you welcome them into your home. Wooden doors feel warmer, they shut with a solid feel, and there is so much more character and story in wood than any other material.”

In a previous post we talked about ‘island living: pull up a stool’. Kitchen islands are a popular spot for wood tops, but what about the overall kitchen materials and design? What considerations are made to keep the chef(s) connected with family and guests? What about  storage space? Wood species and finishes? Rob, GM of our fine woodworking division, NEWwoodworks, and Andrew, interiors specialist in our design group, offered some insights.

“Why custom?” Rob clarified before answering: “We like to tailor the kitchen to exactly what the client wants and needs. We can match, and hopefully enhance, the way they cook, serve, eat, entertain and live.”

Kitchens are often considered the heart of the home. Andrew shared a little history: “Interestingly enough the kitchen has gone full-circle in the lifespan of our country. In the span of 200 years we’ve gone from one room cabins where gathering around the hearth was simply a way of life, to the affluent days of the to-be-left-unseen butler’s pantry and galley kitchen separate from the dining/social areas of the home, to a revival of the central hearth concept appearing today in the form of ‘open plan living’.”

On one of our typical cool, rainy, and windy Autumn days in upstate New York, I had the chance to chat with Laurie who was enjoying some sun and warmth down in Texas. We worked with Laurie and her husband Dan for over a year designing, building, and completing their multi-generational lakeside retreat home in nearby Canandaigua, NY. I asked Laurie if she would share her take on what it was like to build and decorate a custom timber frame home. Her enthusiasm was infectious and I know I spent much of our conversation nodding and smiling. Here’s what she shared:

Megan: So much is about the build site. Why Canandaigua? 

From catastrophe came opportunity: Come help us celebrate as we officially open our Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) building!

After the devastating collapse of half of our fine woodworking division’s WWII era shop in February 2015, we regrouped and put our heads together on how to move forward. Following our ethos of the Triple Bottom Line (people, planet, and profit), it became our goal to design and re-build with new-to-New-York environmentally savvy and energy efficient materials. The result: the first complete Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) building in New York State.

Need storage space? Display space? Can’t find a piece of furniture that’s the right size? Let’s talk built-ins.

What is a built-in? We’ve found a variety of pieces answer this question. Their unifying characteristic is a permanent fastening to the structure they live in. They are specifically sized to fit an existing space and are optimized for efficiency. Ranging from large to small, from simplistic to complicated, from cabinetry to bunks and benches, built-ins are varied and specific.

Our fine woodworking team, NEWwoodworks, and our design team deep dive into these pieces, aiming for designs that will suit current and future needs of the homeowners. Creating flexible pieces in a fixed or permanent space is a challenge solved with collaboration—internally and especially with the family that will live with, and interact daily with, the resulting fixture.

Our fine woodworking division is moving to join our main campus in Farmington, NY. They’re making their home in our Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) building (the first complete CLT in New York State) and in the office/showroom.

After a harsh winter in 2015 laid down an overabundance of snow and ice, this team’s shop collapsed. The WWII era bowstring trusses couldn’t take the heavy load. Seeing this as an opportunity to build a new space with all the right materials, as well as bring the team to the main campus, our CLT building came together.

Today, it’s ducted, sprinklered, wired, and nearly full with all the tools that allow this team to create masterpieces. As they move in, and before the sawdust starts to fly, we thought you might like a sneak-peek at the progress.

Grab a stool and a cutting board, or a plate, or a pencil, or a toothpick, or a tablet, or…?! Welcome to the kitchen island. Food prep, snack counter, breakfast bar, coffee cafe, homework hub, central party point, family communication center—its uses are nearly limitless.

If a kitchen is ‘the heart of the home’, then the island is arguably a home’s centerpiece; imperative at meal times, after school, and during gatherings with friends and family. “I truly enjoy the engagement with and connection most people feel towards this area. I have the most fun working with our clients on their islands. These structures are the ‘sweet spot’.  Looking back on 21 years of this work with New Energy Works, I think islands are often the best part of any job,” said Rob, General Manager and lead designer for NEWwoodworks.

Rob was enjoying a few moments at the island before the Open House of a project we built on Keuka Lake.

As we approach kitchen design, islands are carefully considered, discussed at length, loosely outlined, discussed more, and finalized in detail. “When we have the opportunity to design this area our goal is to bring a thoughtful and logical approach to creating a comfortable, functional, and engaging space incorporating the family’s varied wants and needs,” continued Rob.

Dining, meeting, drafting, sewing, displaying—the table is one of our most versatile pieces of furniture. They range in size, use, and style—across cultures and materials. Small functional bedside tables, wide ornate coffee tables, grand formal dining tables: each personal and flexible to nearly any imaginable design.

For over two decades our fine woodworking group, NEWwoodworks, has been designing and crafting all varieties of tables, working out nuances and integrating creativity with functionality. Wood is this team’s preferred medium, be it antique reclaimed, live-edge, or newly sawn. Celebrating the beauty of the wood is instinctual with these craftsmen.

Doors are the transitional pieces, the welcoming elements, the barriers against intrusion—be it weather or other diversions—the room dividers, the separators of space. A high-crafted door is designed to function flawlessly and be in service for decades. Yet over time their movement and environment can impact aesthetics and usefulness. Our fine woodworking group, NEWwoodworks, has had the opportunity to restore doors of heritage, bearing, and beauty for a few special spaces.

Home at the Spa

Elements from an original carriage house in Rochester were carefully salvaged, including the main entry doors, for a local spa. Always believed to be arched, during removal it was discovered that the original doors were rectangular. They had hung for years behind an arched opening to give them the look of arched doors.

The craftsmen at NEWwoodworks, lead by door guru, Jay, were tasked with creating arches in the old doors, along with general restoration. The doors were constructed in a traditional way using wedged tenons which were hammered in from the side. This type of old craft construction would close and tighten all of the stile and rail joints. With skill and care, an arch was cut in the doors and components were re-fitted to create truly arched doors. The surface was then wire brushed and mounting hardware was set into the backs of the doors so they could be hung on a wall.

The final (final!) Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) panels have been installed on our CLT project. Forming the front corner of the building these panels represent a piece of the flexibility of building with solid wood panels and speak to our passion for planet, forest, tree, and wood.

Our fine woodworking division, NEWwoodworks, used ingenuity, software, and CNC tooling to draw, layout, and cut the “tree” design. Our timber frame and construction teams, including Jason, Kevin, and Jim, installed the panels on a chilly Monday morning. Roofing and final enclosure, including wood fiber insulation, are underway.

Read more about this build, the First Complete Cross Laminated Timber Project in New York State, in a previous blog post.

Timber Home Living magazine documented the Olsen’s journey to building their family retreat in the Berkshires from 2014 to completion in 2016. What happens during a custom home building project? Starting with our design team join the story from the Olsen’s point of view as we craft the timber frame, enclosure, and custom woodworking. Click through each part of the eight part series below to get the inside scoop.

The Olsen’s story, and the Welcome Home Series, begins with the land…

Part 1: From Dream to Design
The Olsen’s begin designing their dream home on land they’d been spending vacation time visiting for 10 years. Harmony with the land and the family was a must.

Part 2: Laying The Groundwork
Breaking ground – an exciting day, especially with a few last minute modifications.

Part 3: Built to Last
Our team raises the frame and the Olsen family watches their dream home take shape.

“I definitely think we designed the right size house with the perfect layout. The house lives on the land and captures views. We’re so happy we decided to build this house and we’re so happy we decided to work with New Energy Works.” – Greg Olsen.

We can’t thank Greg enough for his kind words, but we can try! Many, many thanks to Greg and Dee for working with us and becoming part of our community. Designing, raising, enclosing, and completing the fine woodworking for their home was truly a pleasure. Please enjoy this final article by Timber Home Living magazine of the Olsen’s retreat home journey. (And if you missed the others, click here.)

For over 20 years NEWwoodworks, our fine woodworking division, has specialized in handcrafted cabinetry, furniture, stairs, doors, and other custom designed interior furnishings from their shop in Shortsville, NY. The Shortsville-Manchester Area Chamber of Commerce (SMACC) is a volunteer organization that promotes progress and a positive business climate. NEWwoodworks has supported local Shortsville activities for many years, including the annual Wild Water Derby, and has been recognized by SMACC as business of the month.

“Crafting projects from antique reclaimed wood is a unique privilege,” remarked Rob D’Alessandro, General Manager. “We’re excited to be recognized by the Shortsville Manchester Area Chamber of Commerce as a Business of the Month.”

NEWwoodworks has built a reputation as the go-to shop among designers and architects for taking on challenging, one-of-a-kind, custom woodworking projects. Each piece is hand-crafted using sustainably harvested and often antique wood by skilled craftsmen and design software. Thanks to experience, talented hands, digital technology, and good-old-fashioned creativity the more unique, the more difficult, the better the project.

The craftsmen at NEWwoodworks have knowledge and abilities which ensure every project is a work of art, whether it’s doors, cabinetry, stairs, tables, wine rooms, or commercial fixtures. They have worked with world-famous retailers, hotels, restaurants, and spas to bring the vision of the brand and the designer to life. Great attention is paid to the details: hand-forged hardware, oil rubbed finishes, and antique wood-with-a-story-to-tell are a few of the features incorporated in their products.

DesignNY Magazine featured one of our legacy home projects in their 2015 annual edition. Located on the high banks of Lake Erie, the latest installment – the main house – shares the views with a whimsical timber framed guest house, carriage house, and gazebo. The house includes an open three story stair tower with a central peeled timber mast, custom steel spinner-head bolts anchoring each post, and walnut inlay sheer keys in the reclaimed Douglas fir beams. NEWwoodworks crafted the multi-level staircase from a clean grade of Douglas fir with hand carved inlayed walnut.

Read their take on the project below.

Our fine woodworking division, NEWwoodworks, has specialized in handcrafted cabinetry, furniture, stairs, doors, and other custom designed interior furnishings for over 20 years. This year, we’ve added a customized Thermwood MTR-30 3-axis CNC router to NEWwoodworks’ arsenal of tools, increasing throughput, expanding our design offerings, and creating greater efficiency and accuracy for projects large and small. If you want to talk technical, the Thermwood CNC, ‘Thelma’ as it’s affectionately been named, has a 12HP variable speed spindle, 11 position automatic tool changer, an aluminum grid vacuum table, and state-of-the-art control software.

NEWwoodworks does the bulk of their work in solid lumber, usually reclaimed and antique species, as opposed to sheet goods like plywood. This required their CNC router to be customized to better handle material that can be more difficult to work with. A raised z-axis to accommodate larger timber stock, additional table reinforcement and stiffer axes to aid in cutting denser material, and an upgraded vacuum table to make complex jigging and complicated hold-downs easier and faster are all incorporated into the new CNC router.

Rob D’Alessandro, General Manager at NEWwoodworks described the custom woodworking the CNC will help produce:

The Oregonian wrote an article on The Vermont Street Project our timber frame showhome in Portland, Oregon. The piece is packed with great design highlights and tips, images, a slideshow, and floor plans. Read it all here.

Jonathan & Maxine were interviewed by AOL Real Estate after hearing The Vermont Street Project had won Fine Homebuilding Magazine’s Home of the Year in the Houses 2011 issue. Filmed about a year ago, we still take our hats off to the production team for capturing their story so well. Enjoy the video!

Earlier this year we talked about hardware that our our fine woodworking division, NEWwoodworks often uses. Today we’d like to share a bit more on the use of reclaimed wood by this talented group of craftsmen.

We like to say: if you can dream it, they can make it! Curving staircases that become gradually more narrow; displays with wooden double helix features; curved and arched doors; corner cabinets; end-cut tops; live edge steps, tops, stiles, and rails, to name a few – all crafted with reclaimed wood.

Reclaimed wood inherently has more character than fresh sawn, with ferrous staining, nail holes, deep patina, original saw marks, and high contrasting grain patterns. For our craftsmen access to Pioneer Millworks’ entire inventory of salvaged reclaimed and sustainable wood is no small advantage when searching for that one special board. Each antique board is hand selected and fitted for a one-of-a-kind creation.

Whether we are fitting one of our custom timberframe homes or remodeling an existing kitchen, the greatest care and craftsmanship goes into each and every piece of cabinetry and furniture we build. Our custom cabinetry, built with either reclaimed or FSC Certified woods, have a style and a feel all their own. However, their quality and aesthetic appeal is not just skin deep; the same amount of forethought, planning, and material selection is applied to our hardware choices.

The world of cabinetry hardware is a vast, and sometimes confusing one. The sheer number of choices could fill many volumes, and that takes into consideration only the internal hardware—the drawer runners, hinges, and door stops.

For years, we’ve sought to provide our clients with a product that both looks good and functions well. In our kitchens we feel that this is most important. After all, the kitchen is the room that folks use the most. It should be looked upon as a fun place, a place where we want to be. So where does one start when making functional hardware choices? For us the answer was easy.

Meet  Blum, our fine woodworking group’s top hardware choice.