2017 Wood Diamond Award
Castleman Carpentry (Berryville, VA)

Main Category: Laundry Room
Sub Category: Design
Dollar Amount: Under $25,000

Briefly describe your business and the type of products manufactured.
Located in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley, we are a family owned general contractor specializing in Custom Woodworking.   We perform total transformations of any room of a client's house through thoughtful and careful design.   All of our woodworking is 100% custom and is fabricated in our shop in Berryville, VA.  All aspects of our remodeling projects are managed directly by the owners.  From initial consultation, through design and material selection, cabinet fabrications and project execution;  the owners are directly involved with their client's ensuring the best remodeling experience for their customers.

What materials/species were used in this project/item?
We use quality materials in all of our projects.  Our wood comes to us rough sawn.  These cabinets were fabricated using  3/4" Solid Maple Face Frames, cabinet doors & drawer fronts, custom moldings & trim.  Our cabinet boxes are composed of 3/4" Maple plywood sides, 1/2" bottoms & tops.   Our drawer boxes are fabricated with 3/4 Solid Maple sides, 1/2" plywood bottoms with Blumotion self closing drawer slides.  All doors utilize Blumotion self closing hinges.  The finish on these cabinets was a custom grey pre-cat lacquer by ML Campbell.   The wood tops were 5/4" solid maple stained to a medium warm cherry.  The Ship Lap wall covering was left rustic, brushed with complimenting striated greys and sealed for durability. 

Describe, in detail, the project/item's construction
All aspects of this project were completed by us.  We worked with the homeowner to identify their needs, completing a design that addressed all the multiple functions necessary for their laundry room.   The space not only required multiple functions, it also needed to be attractive as it was one of the first spaces you see as you enter the house.  We achieved the "somewhat rustic" style that the homeowner was looking for by combining the classic beaded inset cabinet fronts with the rustic shiplap wall covering and hardware.  The cabinet details from cutout toe kicks to built-up crown dressed up the classic cabinetry beautifully.  All of  the cabinetry for this project was fabricated  in our shop in Berryville VA.  The Maple came to us as rough sawn lumber.  We milled our own trim, fabricated our own doors, drawer fronts and drawer boxes.  We went through a rigorous sanding process and finished the cabinetry in house utilizing ML Campbell pre-cat water based lacquers that we custom tinted to match the homeowner's color pallet.  Finally, we installed all of our cabinetry, millwork and fixtures for the beautiful and functional space you see here.

What is the most unusual aspect or outstanding characteristic of this entry?
This laundry room served the family in more ways than one.  With 4 children,  a lot of laundry passed through this space.  The ability to sort the laundry so that each member of the household had their own basket was a necessity.  The baskets were not only functional, but attractive.  The homeowner required that the space also house two large gun safes, camping gear for the whole family, a permanent sewing area, family bulletin board, deep sink, all those Costco bulk items and an organized wrapping station.   Fitting all of this into the space while keeping the space attractive and light was a challenge that we accomplished through meticulous design.   First we covered an existing cinder block wall with ship lap for that beautiful rustic look.  We built oversized cabinetry over the laundry equipment that now houses the camping equipment.  The laundry equipment was raised on a custom platform with storage beneath.  This provided more comfortable access to the machines and stability.   The sewing desk is backed with a tinted cork wall for the family bulletin board.  A custom wrapping organizer and tall drawer base houses necessities ranging from tape, paper & ribbons to first aid, school supplies and batteries.  The large gun safes were wrapped with cabinetry providing additional storage for your bulk items without compromising access to the safes.  Finally, we included a laundry chute, open broom cabinet, hanging clothing racks and large soapstone countertop with an oversized sink.  Needless to say, this is a laundry room any family would love to have.
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How has being a member of the CMA benefited you and/or your business?
As a member of the CMA we have been able to reach out to other wood workers and stay up to date on all the latest industry tools and techniques. We have developed contacts and found new sources of blades and tooling through the magazine.  We have had a successful remodeling & woodworking business in Clarke County VA for 13 years.  Through the information provided in your magazine and forums, we feel confident that we can continue to do the woodworking we love as well as keep our business viable 

List any items that were outsourced.
Soapstone Countertops by A&S Fabricators, Laundry Equipment by Maytag, Plumbing fixtures by Danze, Cabinet boxes provided by Cabinotch, Finish provided by ML Campbell