Rustic Furniture and Architecture
Dan works with major architectural firms, and clients, to help identify and locate the right natural materials . He is an authority on contemporary and historical rustic styles. He has written five books and can review design plans with a breadth of experience and working knowledge of techniques and materials.
July-December, 2011
Making a Adirondack Room in Armonk, NY with Bill Olendorf of Twigz... sort of like this one, using White Birch panels and peeled Red Cedar posts and trim:
We're about to deliver and help with the installation
November-December, 2011
I repaired a few Cedar benches at the top of Hessian Lake in Bear Mt State Park. I originally put them in in 2004, I think.
September-November, 2011
I made a large rustic armchair for the new Lodge at Mt Creek in Vernon, NJ which opened in December.
The Chair is 6' tall in that Rustic Gothic style....from peeled maple and a bit of peeled red cedar..like the ones I did last summer:
Spring/Summer, 2011
I'm working on a 100 foot "debris fence", clearing a small piece of woods of fallen branches and stacking them, with yard trimmings, into a 3'-5' high border. I like the mix of order and casual, using gravity as the way to hold it all together... knowing that the inevitable forces of decay are at work every second. 
It is meant as a deer fence. It is along a sharp drop-off and the "fence" looks threatening, I hope, to deer -- with all those branches sticking up and out.
I'm hoping that the Deer Brain is alarmed and will look for an easier place to browse. Late yesterday afternoon, and today, a few deer came by to see how I was doing...
December, 2010
My rustic work in a Store Window: An Enchanted Forest
November, 2010
an 8"x10"Anima "mirror for seeing deferred selves" offered at the Arts Council Silent Auction on Nov 12th.
The actual mirror is 1" dia.-- just enough to see your own eye.
October, 2010
a wedding gift for a couple with a young daughter. I first started making this rustic form in the late 70's for my children. As a chair form, I have not seen anything more pure. There's something in those proportions. It's 22" tall, 12" deep and 16" wide in the front.
May-September, 2010
for a Utah mountain top home: a 10' dining table from reclaimed vintage pine, coffee table, eight side chairs and two Gothic Rustic chairs. This was
done with Bill and Barbara Olendorf of Twigz.
March, 2010
with Centerbrook Architects and Planners, 30 decorative log column covers for the new student center, Quinnipiac University.
Other Recent Projects
Lobby renovation of The Bear Mt. Inn, 2008+
Lakewood House, Centerbrook, 2006-2009
Quaker Hill, Shope,Reno,Wharton, 2001-2004
Marsh Estates, Centerbrook, 1996-1998
Mohegan Sun Expansion, 50 major logs, 2009
The Farm and The Lake House, NJ client, 2000-present
Pre-School area in a Chabad in Basking Ridge,NJ
Rustic Work on modern loggish house
Natural materials as columns, stairways, fences, benches, and even a 2-story treehouse.
Mack works in both new construction and the remodeling and refining of existing, finished homes. He can help identify key areas--often the Entry Way or Staircase -- which might deserve special rustic elaboration. He can offer alternatives at various budget levels
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"RUSTIC"
- ranges from one well-placed rustic chair or table in a contemporary setting to
wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling natural materials. There's a place for each approach and it's testimony to the versatile quality of what's been called rustic. Really, it's the accenting with natural materials. The pleasant challenge is to discover just what natural materials are appropriate in what settings. It can be Great Camp or Zen Garden. Just how much of what material is needed to "say" something?
