Custom refrigerator door handlesare from Manley Metal Works.Other hardware from ChownHardware & R.S. Stapleton Co.Design Center Showroom. Light-ing from Schoolhouse Electricand Circa, combined with vintagefinds from the Tole Barn Antiques,have a timeless appeal.

The furniture-inspired alder cabi-netry, painted and glazed in rawumber, has beads inside the face frames, non-mortised barrelhinges and dentil molding. Allcabinetry designed, built, finishedand installed by R.S. StapletonCo., with finish carpentry by JoeJohnston.

A vintage Scandinavian clock faceis set into the often-wasted spaceabove the built-in Sub-Zero re-frigerator. “Kitchens are meetingplaces, just like the clock in GrandCentral Station,” says Stapleton.

WRITTEN BY AMY MASON DOAN PHOTOGRAPHY BY SPIN PHOTOGRAPHYSWEDISH TREAT

PortraitMagazine.com76

IN MANY OF HIS CUSTOM WOODWORKING PROJECTS,Scott Stapleton builds in a unique feature – a one-of-a-kind vintage

clock face. The clocks have become something of a signature for

Stapleton’s 19-year-old West Linn custom woodworking and fine

furniture business, R.S. Stapleton Company. Stapleton has built a

reputation for exquisite craftsmanship, so the clocks are an appro-

priate nod to the timelessness of his designs.

“I want to create rooms that age beautifully, where the quality

of the work is apparent and the homeowners never want to change

it,” says Stapleton.

Talent and respect for the craft are evident in every millimeter

of a 2009 major home renovation project in Lake Oswego, where

Stapleton’s painstakingly designed and built, custom glazed cabi-

netry and furniture balance an ethereal color palette. Homeowner

Ian Olsen, chief operating officer of the Lemonade Restaurant

Group, and architect Tom Johnson designed the home. Olsen

describes it as “French Country meets humble Swedish aesthetic.”

“Scott is a consummate professional and a master technician,”

says Olsen. “He’s a very supportive and collaborative partner, which

I appreciated. Scott understood our vision and brought his own style

and precision to the work we created.

”Like most of his custom cabinetry jobs, the Lake Oswego

project’s cabinetry with dovetail joinery, inset doors with bead

surround and dentil molding have a high-end furniture look, in-

cluding custom interior fittings to maximize storage and function.

The cabinetry has so much detail that its raw umber glaze catches

in numerous nooks and crannies, warming up the creamy base color

of the cabinets and complementing the Travertine tile floors, gran-

ite countertops and vertical butcher-block island.

“In this day and age, Scott is a dying breed,” says Olsen. “He has

that ‘old world’ sensibility where he has a very discerning eye for

the unique and distinguished.”

Stapleton talked Olsen into the kitchen’s center island vertical

grain Maple Boos block, which forms a 4-inch thick, 4-by-10 foot

work surface. The maple balances the lighter colors in the perime-

ter of the room and will stand up to decades of heavy prep use.

Stapleton created a flush ring of inlaid walnut to surround the

under-mount prep sink for added interest.

Custom Home Plan DesignRemodel DesignFeasibility ConsultingAging In Place Specialist

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19215 SE 34th St.Suite #106-200

Camas, WA 98607

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www.chown.com12001 N.E. 12TH ST. BELLEVUE, WA333 N.W. 16TH AVE. PORTLAND, OR 800-452-7634

800-574-4312

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R.S. STAPLETON CO.

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Service is everything these days, especially in home electronics.Doesn’t matter if a job is big or small. We’re in (on time, by theway) and will fix whatever you need (the buzzing sound, undoingwhat the cable guy hooked up that now doesn’t work, turning threeremotes into one, synchronizing the lights, or designing the perfectentertainment area.

Service is personal for us. We blew one client away by fixing hissystem on SuperBowl Sunday – and, yes, in plenty of time beforekickoff. Big or small, give us a call.

503.598.7380 | 10120 SW Nimbus, Suite C1 | Portland

www.GoRoomService.com

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stay cal m

we al l have our tal ents

Stapleton worked with longtime associate Joe Johnston, “the

best finish carpenter I’ve ever seen,” on extensive built-ins and

other woodwork throughout the house. From the fireplace sur-

round to the thoughtful storage nook tucked into the master bath,

the work is all one of a kind.

In addition to the furniture-inspired cabinetry, the home fea-

tures many pieces of furniture designed and built by Stapleton to

complement the interior design by Mary Roberts Interiors, in-

cluding the master bed and master bath vanity. In the dining

room, Stapleton designed and built a custom dining room display

credenza with glass front doors to fit perfectly in an alcove below

a large antique framed mirror. The mirror, like many of the other

antiques throughout the home, is from Scott’s mother’s shop in

Estacada, Tole Barn Antiques and Interiors by Julie Stapleton. The

Scandinavian kitchen clock face, fleurs de lis tiles built into the

master bathroom tub surround and a lamp on the kitchen counter

are just a few of the items from the shop.

A passion for beautiful furniture clearly runs in Stapleton’s

family; his grandfather was a master carpenter with seven patents

and he still draws inspiration from watching him work as a young

boy. Every piece of woodwork or furniture that Stapleton produces

is bench-made, meaning it is individually designed, produced and

finished. Nothing is outsourced – not a single door or interior box.

Stapleton drafts his projects by hand, not a CAD program. His wife

Elena works closely with him on customer service, making it a

true family business where clients can have direct contact

throughout projects.

“We take on larger projects like this one but we also enjoy

working on smaller projects or single pieces of furniture, and pride

ourselves on communicating well with the client no matter how

big the scope of work,” says Stapleton.

While Stapleton talks modestly about the simple joy he finds in

working with wood, his client is unequivocal about Scott’s talent.

“You know when you’ve walked into an R.S. Stapleton designed

home because it’s all in the details,” says Olsen. “The entire home

looks like ornate and perfectly crafted furniture unique to that

space and time. It’s truly art in another form.”

KITCHEN DESIGN, CABINETRY & CUSTOM FURNITURERS Stapleton Co. www.rsstapletonco.com

ARCHITECT Thomas Johnson, Architect

INTERIOR DESIGN Brandenburg Studios,www.brandenburgstudios.com

Lighting Fixtures: Restoration Hardware, Schoolhouse Electric, Circa; Appliances: Range: Wolf, Range Hood: Asko, Refrigerator: Sub-Zero;Doors: Portland Millwork; Countertop Installation: Conrad Stonecutter;Windows: Marvin; Closet Systems: Portland Closet Company

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