An eye for detail

Arnold, who spent years making fine cabinets for yachts, brings a remarkable level of skill and taste to our house.

The junction of the deck and house, for example, had been troubling him. Yesterday, he found a subtle and beautiful solution:

Ripping and then shaping scraps from the deck wood, he designed a sill and molding -- elegant.

"My very favorite woods are teak and mahogany," he said, "but this ipe is interesting stuff."

Now he's working up ideas for the fence -- and they're beautiful, too.

He said something today that warmed my heart and choked me up at the same time: "I'm going to make this as pretty as Reffard would." You couldn't ask for a better guarantee.