Ultimate Timber

Inspired by Greene and Greene, fine woodwork in mahogany enhances an elegantly rustic timber-frame house in the woods.

- Regina Cole

BEFORE HE RETIRED, John Laupheimer worked as an investment manager. But an avocation that predates his professional life still occupies him today. A skilled furniture maker, Laupheimer made the cherry dining table and chairs in the recently completed house he and his wife, Debbie, built in Lincoln, Massachusetts. The subtle curves,pegging, inlay, and elegance of the furniture were inspired by the California architects Greene and Greene, their motifs minutely observed and flawlessly executed.

“I got into woodworking in school shop,” Laupheimer says. “Since then, I’ve built 12 guitars, a 21-foot gaff-rigged sail boat, and a lot of 18th-century reproduction furniture.”

New inspiration came from a long-ago magazine article about Charles and Henry Greene, and Laupheimer has been smitten ever since. Building this timber-framed house was an opportunity for the couple to pay homage to the Greenes. Thus, the entry is a symphony of stained glass and mahogany, inspired by Pasadena’s Irwin House; the staircase is modeled on that of the Bolton House, also in Pasadena. In the soaring great room hung with reproduction William Morris tapestries, John Laupheimer’s furniture is very much at home.

“We love this house,” Debbie says. “It’s so warm, and at night it glows. All the wood makes me feel good.”