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At Krownlab we believe quality attracts its own. Through 10 years of partnering with the best in the industry, we’ve learned how to build relationships and develop exciting new designs. We are proud to be collaborating with Harkavy Furniture, another Portland-based company, on their new modern collection.

Lead by brothers Dylan and Wesley, Harkavy is dedicated to creating the highest quality handmade furniture with a rigorous attention to detail. The Pacific Northwest is a unique place that has inspired countless arts, designers, builders and masters of every craft. Dylan and Wesley grew up here and pursued studies in fine arts and architecture, and their designs are shaped by this background.

As Dylan explains, selecting hardware is a major step in their process:

“The Buxton was designed to be a one piece office solution, functioning both as a desk and a credenza. From its function to its form, we wanted every aspect of the Buxton to be beautiful and clean. This desire led us to partnering with Krownlab. We were drawn to their stunning design, unparalleled quality, and fine attention to detail. Kor was exactly what we needed for the project.”

In the coming months, look for Krownlab’s full line of new modern furniture hardware and more additions to the Harkavy modern collection.

Skylab Architecture used our Baldur sliding door hardware system in one of our favorite recent projects. Skylab is a Portland based design firm specializing in contemporary architecture and interior design. Founded in 1999 on the ideal of designing environments that create lasting effects on the natural and built worlds, Skylab continues to thrive today and has won awards from OCAPA, AIA, ASLA among others. The firm is behind a number of high-profile projects including the W Hotel in Seattle, Nike’s Camp Victory pop up in Eugene, and the Summit Village at Powder Mountain, Utah.

Skylab refit the Black Box Building, a 1916 historical building located at the corner of SW 13th Ave and Burnside, to be a boutique commercial hub of the neighborhood and serve as their new headquarters. Skylab, according to local architecture writer Brian Libby, was uniquely qualified to update the building for modern use.

Mixing Industrial and Modern

DBW Contracting was founded by Darren Wark in 2006 and focuses on builds that mix industrial and West Coast modern looks. For the Rainbow House in Victoria, B.C. Wark was faced with a few space challenges.

“We chose to use sliding doors for very practical reasons,” Wark said. “The doors really did not have room for a standard hinge configuration.”

However, when Wark surveyed the market, he had trouble finding sliding barn door hardware that fit the house’s style. Briefly, he considered having the hardware custom made at his local stainless shop. That is until he found Krownlab’s Rob Roy sliding door hardware system.

“As soon as I saw the Krownlab hardware, I knew the fit was natural,” Wark said. “The hardware has such a simple, pure sculptural style that blended very well with other details in the house."

Finding Matching Elements

Stainless Steel detailing plays a large role throughout the Rainbow House including the kitchen splashback, the schluter in the tile of the powder room, and the railing on the home’s focal point — a single stringer stairwell. Rob Roy, in Krownlab’s classic No. 4 Brushed Stainless finish, complemented the aesthetic ideally.

“The Rob Roy barn door hardware was a perfect partner to the other elements we introduced in the house,” Wark said.

Initially, it was these striking stairs that led DBW Contracting to sliding door hardware. The office door slab was 48" × 96", but the opening was too close to the stairs to work with a traditional hinge door. Sliding door hardware for the office door was all the plan called for originally. Then Wark found Krownlab.

“We also used Rob Roy hardware on the master ensuite and the master walk in closet,” Wark said. “We could have chosen to leave these as a pass through, but the Krownlab hardware is just so great looking we HAD to install it. Once again the Krownlab hardware made these doors both a feature piece of the house and a practical solution. We like wins like this.”

Goforth Gill Architects is a small firm specializing in residential construction and renovation work in the Seattle, Washington area. Established in 1992, the firm has been recognized in several publications. These include Northwest Home + Garden as the AIA Home of the Month, Fine Homebuilding, and in Seattle Magazine as one of the Top 50 Northwest Architects.

They partnered with Ventana Construction to extensively remodel this West Seattle residence with an expansive Puget Sound view. The interior alterations include a master bedroom addition, a new stairway, a remodeled kitchen, a dining and living room, a mudroom, a laundry, a powder room, and finally a new master bath. For the master bedroom and bathroom, Kimberly Goforth, principal architect at Goforth Gill, used a nyatoh wood-framed door with the Oden sliding door hardware.

​”The client brought this to the table,” said Goforth. “We used the doors in the master bedroom and bath. It is just the two of them living in the house and they wanted doors that they could easily leave open and that looked nice.​”

The Oden sliding door hardware system lends complete design freedom with 400 lb weight capacity, ADA pull force compliance, and premium finish options. For this West Seattle remodel, Goforth opted for the Brushed Stainless finish. This classic No. 4 directional finish is consistently our most popular. The hairline, linear graining is smooth to the touch but adds a sophisticated texture to the hardware.

The CYRK Building is a 14,500 square foot commercial and residential gem located in southeast Portland. DECA, an independent architecture and interior design studio in Portland, Oregon, designed it as a live-work environment. The owner maintains a primary residence on the second floor and a business office on the ground floor. An additional 1,200 square feet is set aside on the ground floor for commercial and retail use.

The LEED Platinum certified CYRK Building is a pillar of innovative and environmentally focused architecture. The elegant design features a green roof, solar panels (both PV and hydrogen), a ground-source heat pump, FSC certified lumber, and passive and active solar shading. Krownlab's Baldur sliding door hardware is featured throughout the interior.

When we moved into our new building in the Northwest Industrial district, we used glass walls throughout. Glass walls are the perfect way to update an industrial building with modern elements. We used our Oden sliding door hardware system for the entrance. Take a moment to see our work.

Oden was designed with glass in mind. We know that glass is not a forgiving material to work with, which is why we’ve built flexibility into the system. Our door stops are continually adjustable and can be set anywhere on the track. Krownlab’s trolleys can be adjusted on the jobsite in a number of directions. Set the exact distance between the fixed glass panel and the moving panel to clear any obstructions on the jobsite and install acoustic seals to control noise pollution. With systems compatible with glass panels between ⅜” and ¾” thick, pick the right glass thickness for your project.

Not only do sliding barn door systems have a modern aesthetic, they are compatible with fully frameless glass panels and glass walls, go-to modern office elements. And because sliding door systems work so well with glass, you can incorporate more of it into your design. This gives you the option of using local glass and easily upping your LEED ranking.

A Trip to Japan Inspires a Home Remodel

When Joe Mansfield, co-founder of Grovemade and owner and founder of Pacific & West, went on a small business exchange trip to Japan, he was looking for inspiration for his company. What he came away with was a vision for how to remodel his 1950’s ranch-style home.

“We had the goal of creating our dream kitchen, increasing southern exposure, and opening up the floor plan,” Mansfield said. “We strove for a balance between mid-century and minimal modern. Inspired by a trip to Japan and the resilient shou-sugi-ban siding there, we decided to torch our siding and the sliding door panel inside.”

To match the beautiful charred wood on the exterior of the house and the sliding door panel within, Mansfield used to the Baldur sliding door hardware system in Top Mount and Black Stainless finish.

“The minimal, hubless bearings of Baldur and the Black Stainless finish were a perfect fit for us,” Mansfield said.

Dividing Space Without Dividing the Home

Mansfield’s custom sliding door panel is made from ten 52” wide beams that are bolted together with one continuous threaded rod. He scorched the beams to match the exterior charred siding. The massive door panel creates tremendous space adaptability. It can either be opened to join the house, or closed to divide it in two.

Last year, Portland’s premier maker of handcrafted, solid wood furniture, the Joinery, decided to transform their downtown pop-up shop into a permanent showroom. Their goal was to move from well-kept Portland secret to high-profile member of the design scene. Having an impactful showroom was crucial, and every square inch of the space was considered.

"We put an enormous amount of heart and planning into designing the space so that it would reflect what we do best, so that it would be a thoughtful representation of how we work," said owner Jon Blumenauer.

The Joinery, best known for its Shaker and Mission styles, creates premium, furniture with traditional joint work including dovetail, mortise and tenon, finger and butterfly methods. In short, their craftsmanship is legendary and every woodworker at the Joinery contributed at least one permanent design element to the 4,700-square-foot space. These pieces included a custom whitewashed reclaimed fir and western walnut reception desk, a rift-sawn white oak kitchen, and a live-edge barn door featuring Krownlab’s Baldur hardware system.

Developing a design culture that focuses on the entirety of a project from concept development to occupancy is an evolution. New generations move through the ranks, instilled with the fundamentals of the field while bringing forward new ideas. At the University of Kansas School of Architecture, Design, and Planning they've developed Studio 804, a non-profit program dedicated to giving last-year Masters students a hands-on experience with each stage of the design process. The students draft the drawings, procure the supplies, and pound the nails; completing one building per year. Impressive stuff all on its own, but on top of that, seven of Studio 804's projects have been LEED Platinum Certified. Needless to say, when Studio 804 first contacted Krownlab in 2013 for a sliding barn door hardware contribution we were thrilled.

When we first received architectural drawings for C1 Bank Miami from Wannemacher Jensen Architects, Rob Bowen Design, and T2theS Design + Build, in St. Petersburg, Florida, we were puzzled; no one had proposed installing our barn door hardware on movable pods before.

Wannemacher Jensen Architects, Rob Bowen Design, and T2theS Design + Build are constantly pushing the envelope on residential and commercial interiors. We love the choice of a bold damask wallpaper against crisp white walls--and the idea that banks don't have to be plastered in imitation wood veneer.