Level & Plumb Woodworks, LLC.

This is a perfect time to get your 'built-in' on! You know that area of your house that serves no function and would be so much more useful with shelves, drawers, cubbies, or even a bench? Yeah, that's the one. Reach out today to chat about what we can do to make that idea a real thing. Don't worry if you don't know exactly what you want - we can throw around ideas until something clicks. Check out some past projects at www.levelandplumbwoodworks.com and drop me a line!

My good friend Jason Reicherts has started Waterwood Studio where he creates amazing paintings that kind of takes you out of reality for a moment. At his recent art show, we picked up a couple prints and I built some frames to finish them up. Check out Jason’s work if these strike your interest. He’s immensely talented and one of the greatest guys I know!

I delivered this simple corner TV stand to some very friendly folks in Battle Creek today. This was one of those rare instances where they knew just what they wanted - sent me an online image and I just adjusted dimensions to make it right. It’s made of ash and stained with Smoke Gray.

Hi there. I’m David. I am Level and Plumb Woodworks (it’s just me). I don’t put my face out here much, but I probably should so that folks can get to know me. So here we go.

My shop is literally 25 feet behind my garage in my back yard here in Richland Township (near Kalamazoo) and is a whopping 16’ by 24’. I wish it was ten times that size but this is all I’m allowed where I live and I love it because I built it all myself.

I have an amazing, supportive wife and two wonderful kids who go to Gull Lake Schools - 9th and 6th grade now. I love being part of the greater Kalamazoo community and love to work for local families. You can check out my work by following me here or visiting my website at levelandplumbwoodworks.com.

Thank you for supporting a (very) small local business. I hope to hear from you soon to talk about any projects I can help you with.

Wrapped up the fireplace makeover at my parents’ house today. To recap, we tore out an overhead shelf, added board and batten and some fresh paint above the brick, then painted the brick and finally, installed a new bookcase and mantel. The cabinet and upper color is BM Atmospheric, the brick color is Dove Wing also from Benjamin Moore. The mantel and cabinet top are made of ash finished with Centurion 400 series clear coat in flat. I added lighting to the shelves as the room needs light and it’s a nice effect with the brick behind it. A few more details to add, but I think it’s pretty much made over at this point. Last photo is the before shot.

Phase 2 is done - the bricks are painted. If you’re in the “you should never paint bricks” camp, I get it. My dad was there on this one. But sometimes a room is so dark and the bricks just don’t add anything to the room. It’s a nice change, I think. Color is Benjamin Moore Dove Wing.

Phase 1 of the work at my parents house is complete. I am making over their fireplace with some fresh color, a mantel, and a new built-in bookcase. My daughter and I tore out a large shelf that spanned over the fireplace, installed some board and batten over the brick, and painted it in Benjamin Moore Atmospheric. She was a great little helper and I honestly couldn’t have done it without her. Next up is painting the brick. First photo is the old, last is the new.

How about some walnut butcher block countertops? I installed these bad boys today up in Lansing. Around the sink is a hard surface in black and these flank the stove. Very cool.

Whenever I design a new project, I draw it up in a 3D modeling program called SketchUp. This can help clients visualize the piece and we can often add in any surrounding furniture, walls, colors, flooring, etc. to help make it even more realistic. It's fun to go back and look at the SketchUp model next to the finished product to see how I did!

I delivered these two small boxes today made of spalted maple. They will serve as urns for two golden retrievers that have passed. I have a golden retriever myself and can’t stand the thought of the end of her life. I hope these boxes will be looked at often as a reminder of what good friends those dogs were to their family.

Something different coming soon. Working with this spalted maple. Beautiful stuff.

Here's a quick look back at a favorite piece of furniture I've been able to design and build. This gathering table is bar height, all walnut construction and houses a modern design wine rack. I love mid-century design, and I love the look of walnut!

I've decided to try to keep a supply of smaller woodworking projects available for sale through an online store. So I now have an online store!

I currently have a limited number of hardwood succulent planters available for sale if you are interested. These are nice small gifts for yourself or someone else to help spruce up your home or office. Succulents not included, sorry.

Use code FIRSTTIMEBUY for 10% off your first order through the end of this month. Visit my store here:

levelandplumbwoodworks.myshopify.com

Free shipping as well!

My lumber racks were getting a little full, so I used some free time to build this patchwork bench. I'm offering it up for sale if anyone's interested. If not, no worries. The price is $750.

About the bench: This bench measures 36" wide, 19.75" tall, and just over 14.5" deep. The base is entirely black walnut in an A-frame shape. The top is around 1.25' thick and is made with walnut, cherry, hickory, oak, & ash. The finish is laxseed oil with paste wax - only suitible for indoor use. It's definitey one of a kind, designed and handmade entirely by myself here in Richland, Michigan.

If you're in the Kalamazoo area (or if you're not) and interested, please reach out. I will deliver it to you as well, assuming you are within a reasonable drive. This is a handmade piece that should last many, many years with a small amount of care and I'd love to give it a good home to someone that will appreciate it.

This was a job I wrapped up in late winter, but the customer had to get the lights wired up and a few other details to take care of.

Frameless white cabinets with beautiful live edge walnut tops from RSL Hardwoods. Walnut floating shelves above with downlighting built into the shelves. Same thing on the opposite side of the fireplace.

This sofa cabinet was delivered a week ago, but I went back today to install the door and drawer pulls. It’s always fun to add some color to someone’s house. This color is Sherwin Williams Nurture Green in satin. I used my go-to paint, Centurion 400 series. This was fun to design and build.

Level & Plumb Woodworks, LLC. Level & Plumb provides custom woodwork projects including cabinets, built-ins, and furniture designs

I delivered this custom stereo cabinet this morning for a nearby customer. We spent a good hour or so routing and hooking up all the wires to the speakers and turntable, etc. It was fun - kind of took me back to my college days setting up a dorm room. The top is stained maple and the rest is sprayed with Centurion 400 series satin in Pittsburgh Paint’s Loofah. Very heavy, but a fun delivery.

These shelves looks even better full of booze.

This shelving is going to be used for liquor storage near a basement bar. It’s a great use of some under-the-stairs storage that typically just gets stuffed with junk. The brass rods are there to keep the bottles from jumping off the shelves. This was a fun, quick project for a return customer.

I wrapped up this built-in install on either side of this existing fireplace. Each cabinet is topped with beautiful live edge walnut slabs and below two walnut floating shelves. The shelves have channels in the bottom that will house accent lighting shining down. A keen eye will notice that these are frameless cabinets - something I don’t do a lot of. Very fun project for a wonderful family.

Just putting the last coat of Centurion clear finish on these walnut live edge beauties. Thanks to Tim at for supplying these (formerly one big piece) and flattening them for me. Saved me a ton of time! Hoping to get these into their final resting place later this next week. Stay tuned.

I just wrapped up installing this mantel that I designed and built. This was a lot of fun to build and came together quite nicely, though it was a bit heavy to lug around. The paint (Centurion 400 series in flat) is a slightly off-white that matches the other walls in the room.

I added these lower drawers to an existing sort of desk area that was kind of wasted space in a mudroom. Also replaced the existing drawer fronts so everything matches. The lower drawers are big enough for a whole bunch of hanging files. Fun project with fun results. Last photo is the before image.

Happy Saturday. I had a quick little install this morning of this baby/dog gate that I made to match the existing stair design. I was able to track down matching balusters and we played with stains and colors until we got the cherry to look just right. I think it looks cherry!

This one put up a fight. From removing the 120 year old baseboard trim to shoehorning the coat rack in between window trims to heavy lifting in the snow without killing myself, this project proved to be very rewarding. I LOVE the color the client chose - Luxe by Magnolia Home in flat Centurion 400 series paint. A bench area with tons of shoe storage underneath. A huge cabinet on the left and coat storage and bookshelves to the right. A floating shelf up high with a bar for hanging yoga mats over the window. Great family, great dog, beautiful old house in the heart of Kalamazoo.

I’ll spare you the gore, but I managed to score my first real woodworking injury today. I just got home from a 4 hour ER visit and I’m told I was very lucky. The blade didn’t hit any bone, I didn’t lose any digits, and I still have most of my thumb nail. I think I’ll take a few days off to recover and hit it hard in the new year.

To my woodworking friends out there - I was cutting a slot with my Lamello Zeta in a piece that was probably a little too small to be held by hand. The blade grabbed the maple and shot it out of my hand which was pushing the board into the Zeta. My fingers went right into the blade. Lesson learned: use clamps to secure your piece on something like this.

This dog gate will likely be my last install of the year. This was a fun, fairly quick project to finish the year off. I made it with poplar and the customer plans to finish it herself. The design came from some other designs she found but I put a few of my own touches on it.

I was happy to build and install this custom bench for very good friends of mine. They are trying to knock out some last minute projects before their first baby arrives. This bench opens up for plenty of storage and has soft close features so no little fingers get pinched. They’re going to put finish on the bench themselves.

Another little one today. This is next to the basement bar I installed a few weeks ago. It’s a small walnut table that folds down when not in use. It’s a nice spot that looks out the walkout into the backyard patio. Finished with Centurion 2800 series clear coat in a flat finish.