Jo’s Dining

This dining room project features a mango wood table paired with a custom-designed credenza with concealed drawers and a built-in wine rack, all topped with 13.5 feet of white quartz. Above the credenza hangs a custom sky painting measuring 7 feet wide by 4 feet tall, illuminated by a modern, customized LED light.

The project began with the table, which became the foundation for the rest of the design. The clients knew they wanted to remove all of the existing dining room furniture and replace it with a credenza that would span the entire 13.5-foot back wall. They had a rough sketch outlining how they wanted the interior cabinet space organized—drawers, shelves, and storage—but the exterior design was still a mystery.

That mystery led us back to the table. After studying it closely, we determined that sourcing mango wood to match it wasn’t practical, so we chose alder instead, which shared many similar characteristics. To keep the credenza clean and modern, we designed shaker-style full overlay doors that concealed as much of the face frame as possible. Hardware included Blum full-overlay soft-close hinges and Blum undermount soft-close drawer slides for smooth, effortless function.

The open wine rack required extensive planning and precise measurements to fully utilize every inch of available space based on how the clients intended to use it. Integrated multifunctional LED lighting was added to create a warm, ambient glow. The finish was a multi-toned gel stain formulated to complement the mango table’s pedestal, sealed with a water-based clear finish designed for hardwood floors and built to last.

Once the credenza was complete, we ordered and installed the quartz, finishing the furniture portion of the project. During the final stages, the clients asked if we could create a custom painting to fill the large wall space above the credenza. After reviewing countless references and ideas, we settled on a 7-foot by 4-foot gallery-wrapped canvas depicting a soft, cloudy sky—a piece that was an absolute pleasure to paint.

After hanging the painting, we selected a sleek, modern LED dining room light. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t hang straight, and the factory canopy wouldn’t even mount to the ceiling without falling apart. So, we did what we do—we took it back to the shop, built a custom alder canopy, and rewired the fixture so it would balance and function exactly as it should.