All of the wood used in the shelves and trim in this four-walled, floor-to-ceiling library were milled from a single standing dead ash tree. (The emerald ash borer has killed most ash trees in southeast Michigan, making ash a kind of “recycled” wood.) Pieces with interesting grain, knots, holes, or borer-marks were saved for the more visible parts of the shelves. The reinforcing beams were salvaged from an old barn – and, somewhat miraculously, fit right in place without needing to be cut. The floor

There was originally a wall separating this bedroom from a small 6-foot-square closet at the end of the hallway. We removed the wall and closet door to create a small sitting room with built-in shelves and large, South-facing casement windows. The transformation of what could have been a dedicated closet into a small room with a built-in shelf created a storage problem that was solved by the use of two smaller shelves, two large wardrobes (one antique, one modern), four vintage, hot-pink “Jersey Fruit” peach

The floor is the original wide-plank pine floor, repaired, sanded down, stained, and sealed to keep the history embedded in some of its deeper gouges. The double doors leading to the adjacent room were originally sidelights (windows on the sides of doors) from a nunnery in Monroe, Michigan. We cleaned, stained, and sealed them to reveal original antique leadwork and beautiful wood grain under years of soot, grime, and water damage. The matching door to the hallway is from the same source. The antique secretary

The stipulation that there be a full-sized bed on the West wall of this small room made it difficult to find other pieces that could fit. But with a flexible eclecticism and a limited color scheme, we managed to turn it into a striking yet functional guest bedroom, complete with dresser, desk, mirrors, bedstand, cubbies, ottoman, that could be easily converted into a children’s room in the future. Bed: supplied by client / Overhead light and fan: existing / Wall paint color: existing / Dresser:

The Bluish Barn was a house in Ann Arbor that hosted public movie screenings and other events.  Since the tenants were unable to make any permanent changes to the house’s structure or surfaces, Mongo Deco was tasked with furnishing to fit an existing layout and color scheme.  The small space had to be a comfortable place for three friends to live and work while also accommodating larger crowds.