Custom Walnut Floating Mantel
The warm, inviting glow of walnut wood. The clean lines of a modern design. The impossible feat of a cuboid floating on the wall. That's the magic of a walnut floating mantel. It's more than just a place to hang your stockings; it's a statement piece that elevates your entire living space.
The warm, inviting glow of walnut wood. The clean lines of a modern design. The impossible feat of a cuboid floating on the wall. That's the magic of a walnut floating mantel. It's more than just a place to hang your stockings; it's a statement piece that elevates your entire living space.
The Return Of Made in Del Mar
It's been eight years since the last time I put my branding on a piece of furniture. Eight years since I felt the satisfaction of shaping raw wood into something beautiful and functional, something that would bring joy and comfort to someone's home. But the passion never faded. It simmered beneath the surface, waiting for the right moment to resurface.
I'm happy to announce the return of Made in Del Mar. The tools are sharp, the workshop is humming, and my hands are eager to engineer with wood once again.
While my love for live edge pieces remains strong, I've also embraced a new aesthetic: contemporary furniture with clean lines and a focus on straight, beveled edges. This contemporary edge complements the natural beauty of the wood, creating pieces that are both timeless and modern.
And nothing speaks to me the way walnut does. Its rich, warm tones and natural figuring make it a joy to work with, and each piece crafted from walnut is truly unique. Whether it's a dining table that becomes the heart of family gatherings, a console table that adds a touch of sophistication to an entryway, or a custom-designed piece that reflects your individual style.
Visit my website to see the latest pieces, get a glimpse into my creative process, and learn more about the story behind each piece. And if you have a vision for a custom piece, I'm here to listen email or text and collaborate with you to bring your dream to life.
Claro Walnut From The NorCal Orchards
The Walnut tree is a common find in the agricultural region of northern California. This is where this stunning table top pictured here hails from. Most people aren’t aware that California’s walnut orchards actually combine two species in each individual tree. The tree used to produce nuts, commonly referred to as walnut. English Walnut (Juglans regia), is actually a native to the Caspian area of Central Europe. However, this tree does not thrive when planted in California’s soils and climate. Over time, walnut growers learned the most vigorous nut production occurs when English Walnut is grafted onto California’s native walnut (Juglans hindsii), also known as Claro Walnut.
This grafting practice is common with nut and fruit growers who utilize local, disease-resistant species as the rootstock and then graft on top a better fruiting non-local species in order to maximize both the hardiness of the tree as well as its productive capacity. The result of the grafting process described above is that when orchard walnut logs are milled, you get a mix of two distinct woods in each production run. Claro Walnut is notable for its chocolate color, its swirling grain, and its “figure”—a prized grain feature that captures and reflects light in an eye-catching manner. English Walnut is much lighter in color and the grain tends to be relatively uniform.
Walnut trees from the orchard are felled after around ~40 years of age. This coincides with a decline in fruit bearing capabilities. The fate of a vast many many trees is that they are burned for fuel or simply put in the wood chipper. However, there is some good news, some of the trees are reincarnated and go on to live a new purposeful life...just like the example pictured above. If you would like to own one of these Claro Walnut pieces, please reach out to me via the contact page.
Walnut butcher block
Walnut cutting board
Black Walnut Mantle Piece
Putting the piece back into mantle
Solana beach bound
This live edge black walnut book matched Kitchen table has now been sold. It made its debut in early October 2014. The 80" x 32" table sold for $4800. Please don't hesitate to reach out to john@madeindelmar.com for quotes in relation to sizing and production time lines.
Black walnut yum
It's nice. It's very nice.
24 carat desk
Gold leaf has been brushed into and onto the natural voids on the surface of this walnut slab top. The finish is subtle yet draws a pleasing eye.