At Home: With A Master Woodworker Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

At Home: With A Master Woodworker
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The dining room set in the Schuelers’ Merton, WI home has more than 650 pieces of solid inlaid wood and eight or nine types of wood, including leopard from Australia and bubinga from Africa. Click through the jump for more photos of Will Schueler's home and his amazing wood working skills.

Viv and Will Schueler live in a virtual showroom for Will's fine woodworking abilities. Will designs and builds his furniture in a 30-by-40-foot heated shop/garage just a few footsteps from his back door. Viv, who works as an administrative assistant at Froedtert Hospital and the Medical College of Wisconsin, said that nearly all the furniture pieces in their home have been crafted by her husband. She happily collaborates with him on their furniture's design. You can see more of their home, Will's work and read an interesting interview with the couple over at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

(Photos by William J. Lizdas for the MKE Journal Sentinel)

Comments (8)

He's obviously very talented, but doesn't seem to show a whole lot of restraint in his designs. There's something to be said about subtlety and not having every piece inlaid with 30 different kinds of wood.

posted by ChristopherB on December 12th 2008 at 1:06am
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My moth dropped open when I saw these. Absolutley beautiful. Restraint can be safe and boring. I like that he felt free to use the wood according to his imagination.

posted by Aiekan on December 12th 2008 at 10:19am
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I LOVE the dining room table. What fun is there in restraint?

posted by sleggo on December 12th 2008 at 10:54am
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Definitely a skilled woodworker, but to me the furniture looks rather hideous.

posted by teadrinker on December 12th 2008 at 11:25am
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I love it, it's over the top and yet still classy.

posted by TheoJ on December 12th 2008 at 11:30am
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I agree, he's obviously very talented, but there's too much going on for me. I think the dining room table could actually be stunning if it were paired with solid chairs (no inlay). The chairs detract from the table's artistry.

posted by arrestingimage on December 12th 2008 at 11:45am
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I do think the table and chairs togther are a bit much, but that table is Spectacular. Woodwork is so labor intensive, i can't imagine the time that took.

Oh bespoke furniture... i would have him in the shop all the time if he was my live-in.

posted by DahliaCactus on December 12th 2008 at 12:49pm
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It's beautiful but I'd rather see more restraint with everything in the home--stark modern architecture and simple rugs and accessories (plus less of the handmade stuff to begin with) would set off each piece. As it is, there's so much of it that it becomes "common." And that rug under the dining room table completely ruins the look of the furniture, in my opinion.

This would be a fun one to make over! (Not that they're asking.)

posted by madsarah on December 13th 2008 at 9:14am
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