Bryan Appleton Designs

I have waited over a year to write this review, in hopes that with time I will feel better about Bryan’s work. Yes, he is talented and makes interesting and unique furniture. Unfortunately he agreed to be the contractor on a cabin we restored in Sonoma. He has no skills being a contractor and he managed the project very poorly with the end result of not supervising the electrician and plumber who screwed up the wiring and plumping. Even the one portion he should have shined through, he put very little thought in coming up with creative space solutions, and Worst of all, he built a kitchen with faulty measurements, with the end result of delivering a product less than optimal. I have no idea how he had the nerve to make a kitchen like that and take wrong measurements. His time management skills where beyond worse and we had to do much of the coordinating work with vendors and installations. He is disorganized, distracted, and was absent from the project which is now costing us thousands of dollars trying to amend his mistakes. His only grace was providing the wood and connecting us with a master carpenter who actually built the house single handedly but received no support from Bryan. The project took double the time to do, and since he promises and under delivers, we had to let go of work he promised to do, such as furniture and a fence. In giving him my feedback, he did not even bother to reply to my letter or apologize or fix the kitchen. My recommendation to you: buy pieces of furniture from him but do not put him in charge of anything.

I am so happy with the planters Bryan made for our building! They look great. He was good at communicating with me through the whole process. He responded quickly to emails and text. He was helpful during the design process. He showed up on time to our appointments. I highly recommend him!

So glad we found Bryan Appleton on Unilocal.We are so thrilled with our new kitchen table. The table itself is made of 2.5″ reclaimed douglas fir. The quality, design and durability are indisputable. This is my favorite piece of furniture I’ve ever owned. We feel so lucky to have found this talented, affordable furniture designer. We look forward to using him more in the future.

I came across Bryan Appleton at the Alameda Flea Market and loved his work. So when I was furnishing my place I made a trip to his studio and was blown away by the level of craftsmanship and vision that he good see in a piece of wood. I wanted a wood top and metal legs and he was able to quickly find the pieces that fit my personality. Him and his team were professional and helpful throughout the process. And every person that comes to my place comments on this table — great design and purchase.

Working with Bryan was awesome! He got our table done in less time than predicted and under our budget. He was a good listener and really inspired us. Our final product is so cool! A dining room table with a bowling alley top and hospital gurney bottom. It was our first big furniture purchase as new homeowners– really glad we found him!

I purchased two six-​foot long redwood planters and a patio table and benches from Bryan. All four pieces are beautiful and elegantly crafted, well exceeding my expectations. Bryan took the specifications and ideas I had for the patio table set and created a showpiece. He’s given me instructions for maintaining the finish on all of the pieces, and I know they will continue to be beautiful for years to come. I absolutely love them!

Met Bryan at the Alameda Faire, loved his work, and subsequently went to his workshop in Oakland where we talked, toured and brainstormed about my new kitchen table. His bowling alley wood was too light for what I had in mind, so he found some beautiful old wood from a 125 year old feed building in Petaluma, and stained it to match my other furniture. I could not be happier with the results. He was responsive, on-​time, and on-​budget. This will be only the first of a collection I hope to have him make for me. I recommend him without hesitation.

Honduras Mahogany on 70s Bowling Alley mixed with industrial cart? Yes welcome to my home.
I LOVE my new cocktail cart.
I will begin stalking Bryan until my whole house is as cool, sturdy, recycled and beautiful as my tiny cocktail corner.

Its been a while since I actually came on back to Unilocal to write a review, however i felt it was time to get back to it after dealing with Bryan. Found his site and read the great reviews so decided to shoot him an email with a request for a custom planter box. Included a rough and i mean rough outline of what we wanted and he was able to measure it up and make a suggestion on a design flaw and told me we want to make sure it will last for the next 20 years. Solid.
Anyway, it took him less than a week to complete even with a last minute request to add wheels to the bottom of the box and have it delivered (free delivery within 25 miles) Solid #2
We couldn’t be happier with the craftsmanship of his work, the box is sturdy and everyone loves it. We will be back for more work for sure.
If you need custom work done this is the place to go if you are in the oakland/​piedmont/​san francisco area. You wont be disappointed.

We looked and looked for a round table to work in a small dining area. Everything I found was either junk or overpriced. Since I do climate change work, I really wanted something made from recycled/​reclaimed materials.
Bryan and his team created just the piece – beautiful, well-​designed, matched our specs and delivered on time. And, all for a fair price. If only all businesses delivered such a satisfying experience!
Thanks, Bryan and team!

Salvaged bowling lanes from Daly City + vintage steel trusses + Bryan’s craftsmanship = awesome table at a fair price. We couldn’t be happier with the custom dining table Bryan and his team created and delivered for us.
If you’re looking for solid furniture that will last hundreds of years and want to be involved in the design process, this is the way to go. Be sure to drop by Bryan’s workshop in Oakland to check out the extensive cache of materials and get a feel for how and where these pieces are made.
Bryan is easy to work with, gave us regular updates, and usually called to clear design and production tweaks before proceeding. Great experience overall and we will certainly look to commission more work from Bryan’s workshop in years to come.

Like most people, we met Bryan at the Alameda Antiques Faire. Loving his work, we made an appointment and met him at his workshop. What a treasure trove of materials to work with. Bryan is loquacious and engaging with a great eye and sense «urban style.»
After talking, walking, laughing and looking, he helped us find fantastic materials and ideas for the pieces (yes plural) we wanted for our home. He is easy to work with and his prices direct to the consumer are fantastic. He’s not flea market cheap, but he’s 30−60% than what you’d pay for similar work in a store, and his craftsmanship is wonderful.
Run to his shop. One day he’ll be too busy to work with people directly, but not quite yet. But please wait until after my pieces are done,. :) My highest recommendations.

My husband and I met Bryan at the Alameda Flea Market and fell in love with his work! Our first piece was a lovely narrow wood armoire made from reclaimed wood and accented with beautiful salvaged hardware and glass. We have since had Bryan build a dining room table, bench and a bar for us, and are eagerly awaiting our new custom built bathroom vanity. Bryan is a pleasure to work with. He is a wonderful artist, as well as a terrific carpenter. The quality of his work is superb and a great value. We will enjoy our unique pieces for years to come and feel good that we are able to help support a local craftsman.

I saw one of Bryan’s pieces at an antique store in Niles and loved it. Then I saw Bryan at the Moss Landing flea market and as the saying goes «it was meant to be». Bryan created the perfect corner hutch for me with my asked for colors, antique doors and hardware… not only that but it was done before the promise date! Hope to get other pieces down the road sometime. He’s a great guy and very easy to work with. Definitely visit his shop it is full of interesting things! Thanks Bryan

Bryan created a cabinet/​base for an old farmhouse sink that I had salvaged. Not only did the finished piece exceed my expectations, he went out of his way to finish it in time for the holidays (and guests from out of town). A pleasure to work with!

My wife met Bryan at the Grand Lake farmer’s market one day and was really impressed with his work. A month or so later we have a new dining room table and bench that Bryan made just for us. In a another month or two we will have a custom hutch made for our T.V.
Working with Bryan has been a great experience. Very friendly, easy to talk to, and accommodating. He invites you over to his workshop, which itself is a treat, and will take as much time as you need to make sure he’s building you exactly what you want. Measurements, colors, designs, highlights, etc… He’ll make suggestions and encourage you to do the same. Prices are more than reasonable, and the finished products are of the highest quality. And he even delivers the piece once it’s done! Visit his website and blog for some great examples of his work.
Seriously, 5 stars isn’t enough.

I’m writing this after Bryan has informed me that my cabinets have been delivered. We had a very small space that we needed two large cabinets for and a friend referred us to Bryan Appleton. He invited us to his studio and it was immediately apparent this guy knows what he’s doing and loves the process. Our dimensions were specific and he gave us exactly what we asked for. He kept us in the loop the entire time and if there are specific questions, he’ll give you a call rather than risk doing it incorrectly. Bryan is a pleasure to work with and we are overjoyed with the beauty of our finished pieces.

What a wonderful experience!
I phoned Bryan Appleton after reading the excellent reviews on Unilocal.I am starting my first organic vegetable garden and needed a raised planter box.
There are many dimensions and prices on his web site (hooray for transparency) but I had to make things complicated.
I decided I wanted a box similar to one I read about in a gardening magazine. No problem for Bryan.
He made me a custom box of 4 ft X 3 ft @ 18″ for only $ 250!
The box is made from recycled redwood. Recycled redwood is the better choice for many reason’s two of them being that the wood came from prior construction and was prevented from it’s original land fill destination. It is a hardy old growth fiber, which means it will outlast regular second growth redwood (like you buy at Home Depot) by 20+ years.
OK, now on to the gardening center to buy tomato plants…

I found Bryan through Craigslist and was impressed by reviews that I’d read as well as the passion he has for his work and the examples of his work on his website. Bryan made some custom planter boxes for me and they’ve held up great in our backyard — sturdy, well-​sealed, and well-​built. Perfect for the vegetables and flowers I wanted to add and they look awesome.
Bryan was easy to work with and delivered them to my home. He’s a little pricey but you do get great service and a great product. After all, it is custom stuff.

Bryan built us a redwood planter box and it turned out great. It’s huge and very sturdy. It was made from reclaimed redwood, not the flimsy stuff you can get at most nurseries. It looks amazing on our patio and we can’t wait to fill it with plants!