The Watsonian, words + images delivered to you by Watson. A visual documentation of design inspiration, travel, and projects from the Humans at The Medium Control Design Company.
The Watsonian
Words by Watson The Cat
Archive for the FURNITURE / SPATIAL DESIGN Category
The Humans built a deck. The deck is a flat surface capable of supporting my weight, it is similar to a floor, but it was constructed outdoors, and it is elevated from the ground. As an extension of the outdoor living area the space is used daily for dining, lounging, and working. The Humans dug thru piles of wood over at True Norther Cedar in Superior, Wisconsin to obtain perfect planks of Northern White Cedar. Recently, our good friend Zack started up a mill in Wisconsin: Fox Walk Log & Timber. Local support peoples. Beyond linseed oil, they left it left untreated so it may naturally weather to a beautiful silver gray. Build a deck HERE.
Finally, yours truly in action. Well, I did actually get myself up here but the Humans only managed to capture my graceful departure. Thank goodness my stealth leaping skills shall remain secret.
Larger HD version of the video can be viewed HERE.
Beware, garden protector on duty. The Humans decided it was about time to start growing their own veggies, so they built a raised garden. In an effort to keep the garden consistent with other Habitat projects the Humans used untreated Douglas fir 4×4’s. To properly drain the garden the Humans stapled down a mesh bottom filled it with peat moss, and then soil. The raised garden makes it easy to tend and keeps most of the critters away. Get organically dirty HERE.
The Humans tackled another project. Over the weekend, Tommy and his brother built a garden pergola for their mom at her house. The pergola was built entirely from reclaimed cedar split fence railings that their dad put up 30+ years ago. It was amazing to see how old the cedar was, yet millimeters deep in the wood it looked brand new. The pergola offers Humans and critters alike a shaded break from the garden and an outlook spot to all the flowers in the yard. Enter the shaded passage HERE.
The Humans wanted to create a custom desk built for the room with minimal floor interference. Spanning the entire width of the room the Dozen Desk fits wall to wall: 12 feet long, 29″ tall, 28″ deep and 3.5″ thick… and enough weight to sink a ship. The desk was inspired by a couple trains of thought: minimal leg support, maximum desk space area, use of raw wood to contrast the dark painted walls (letting that grain shine) and the use of industrial galvanized connecting supports to match the corrugated ceiling. The desk is also inspired by growing up on a hobby farm and many of the materials used in the barns. Basic functionality to get the job done, but having serious strength to withstand the wear and tear of horses. Although we don’t have horses roaming around the Habitat, it still has to withstand my ferocious pounce. Check out the build HERE.
When the Humans constructed the Habitat for me the main objective (as with all projects) was to make the place look good, think about the environmental impacts, and stick to the budget. Custom cabinetry is worth every penny (especially from Scott at woodsport.net), but it can also eat up a large chuck of the funds. Therefore, the Humans opted to build their own custom vanity for their guest bathroom. To learn more about building a Schoolboy Vanity, click HERE.
Ah, the balance bench. The Humans built this to assist with my daily mediation. I am on a strict meditation regiment of at least 12-15 hours, per day. They put the bench in the Habitat entryway for their own convenience. The bench is made from left over parallam from the kitchen’s bartop, which was cut, sanded, sealed and sat on.
The Humans have been spending time in the workshop again… They seem to think making stuff is fun. Whew, I am glad I don’t have to work that hard. They have been cutting and sanding scrap cedar blocks and parallam to make fancy wood coasters (The leftover cedar is recycled from a new building project: The Spaceship, coming soon). Once the wood is nice and smooth, they flock the blocks with their original Eames designs and The Medium Control Explorer logo. Of course they also put my face on a set of their wood coasters, all available at our STORE. Coast on and see the wood details HERE.
Step by step shots of the library build in 20 seconds. I am always a huge help with any building project, just ask the Humans. The video’s music was created by the good people at Asche & Spencer.
Bigger? An HD version of this video can be found on our VIMEO PAGE.
Check out the detailed explanation of the library build HERE.
How am I suppose to get all the way to the top of this? I do have superior leaping skills but this is a little out of hand, even for me. The Habitat was built with a small footprint so utilization of space was essential. The Humans weren’t going to let all their cubic volume go to waste, so they decided to build a library nook. Towering around 15 feet tall this thing can hold some serious literature. It also serves the purpose of adding loads of color variation to the otherwise mono-tone living space. To read more about how the Humans built their library, click HERE.
Step by step shots of the fireplace installation in 20 seconds. If I was installing it probably would have taken me 20 seconds, but it took the Humans much longer, ugh… perfectionists. The video’s music was created by the good people at Asche & Spencer.
Bigger? An HD version of this video can be found on our VIMEO PAGE.
Check out the detailed explanation of the installation and eco aspects of the fireplace HERE.
My favorite spot of the entire Habitat… one must eat to survive. With an open floor plan the Human’s goal was to design a kitchen that did not look too much like a “kitchen.” No one wants to sit in the living room and look at a bunch of appliances - well at least not my Humans. That is why black appliances were paired with black cabinets. Also, notice the lack of actual cabinet space… that is because they opted for almost all drawers, much easier access.The goal here was to keep the color pallet well balanced with the rest of the Habitat. In turn emphasizing the bar top as the focal point which brings in a warm natural element to the room. The bar top serves the essential purpose of breaking up the space visually and functionally between the kitchen and living room. Existing at 9′ x 14″ x 3.5″ it adds sufficient burliness to the kitchen as well. While the kitchen may seem small in size, as with any true minimalist space, it’s design has proved itself highly functional for cooking, living and entertaining. The kitchen deceivingly has plenty of work space and storage while at the same time managing to be unobtrusive.
To find out more about the actual design, materials and finished photos CLICK HERE.
The humans tell me tales of a time when they lived in a castle in Alnwick, England… which is why they had to have their own big and burly castle staircase. They wanted to pull off this heavy look with a breathable functionality. I am certainly not going to complain about this decision because I thoroughly enjoy zooming up, down, up, down and lounging around on it. A suspended staircase was a must to keep the clean and open aesthetic flowing throughout the Habitat. However, to remain cost effective and still utilize eco materials the Humans had to get creative about choosing the raw materials (let’s just say custom staircase = custom cost). To see and learn more about building the big burly steps… and one of my favorite napping spots, (more…)
We had no space, two rooms, and a lot going on with the habitat build. Therefore, I told them: if I must live out here at least please build me a proper bed suitable for bird watching and an area designated for multiple scratching post options. And I was not talking about any slap bang boom job, this deal had to look good - I lived there and birds checked in on me all day. Overall they did a decent job, it was comfortable and i managed to get a few good nights of sleep. Here is what our project evolved into: (more…)
