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This article originally appeared in Audio Video Interiors, February 1996
by Marilou Vaughan STEVE CASEY
"My dream was to work at home, to watch my children grow up and to be a studio craftsman," says Steve Casey. As if on cue, his son Bryce appears at the door, followed by brother Perry. It is nice to be able to report that occasionally dreams do come true. Strolling around the 2,000-square-foot studio he designed and built in the hills at the western end of Los Angeles county, Casey remembers the beginnings of his career. "I took an evening class in woodworking at a local adult school, and I got so excited about it that I enrolled in the art department at California State University in Northridge to study it as a fine art." While in college, he put himself through an apprenticeship program by working for various craftsmen, and eventually opened his own studio to design and construct original work for exhibition. "My first public exposure was an art show at school where I entered my sculpture called 'The Zipper.' A couple saw it and asked how much it was, and I didn't have any idea. I didn't know how to price my work. So I thought about it and decided that what I really needed was a belt sander, a finish sander and a ¼ -inch drill motor. I added up the retail prices and that's what I quoted to them. They bought it." That was 20 years ago, and in the intervening time Steve has gone on to win many awards and to expand his range. Since 1978, his company, Casey Design, has been providing custom furniture, cabinetry for kitchens and elsewhere, prototype fabrication and original art. In the classic tradition of the studio craftsman, each piece is individually designed, then finished and installed by Steve and his apprentices. "These days, about seventy percent of my business is in home theater furniture and cabinetry," he says. Casey initiates the client/craftsman relationship by inviting clients to his studio. "Designing and making this kind of furniture is a very hands-on process, and if someone won't participate in it to the extent of coming to meet me here, I know we are not going to be able to see a project through together." The process begins with a tour of the work- shop, some discussion and then a slide show. "I have built A/V furniture from small TV stands to 20-foot freestanding units, and I have transparencies of most of it to illustrate the variety of sizes and styles we can choose from. Then I usually make the point that while I can work with any wood and finish, I prefer to let the material speak for itself. That is, let mahogany, cherry and oak be what they are. Don't use oak, and stain it walnut." But within those parameters, Casey sees his studio as "a candy store. I tell people that they can have anything they want as long as they can communicate it to me."
Recent results of the hands-on process of design includes a unit with two wings flanking a Honduras mahogany center. The completed piece, about 8 ½, x 10 feet, holds a 35- inch TV, VCR and center-channel speaker in the middle, with components, display space and additional speakers to the sides. "This was made for the family room of a Spanish-style house with adobe walls, heavy Mexican furniture and wrought iron. I decided to combine architecture and furniture in the one piece. The outboard sides of Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) are thick and rounded, with a faux-stone finish like adobe. The mahogany center has traditional furniture details such as molding and fluted columns with antique Mexican silver disks for decoration." A much larger unit, 9!/2 feet high x 19 ½ feet wide wide, was built to house the A/V system in Larry and Gail Cummins' living room in Encino, California. Made of stained maple with a lacquer finish, its contemporary lines and un-ornamented appearance are the appropriate foil for a 53 -inch Sony XBR television with two 13-inch Hitachi sets above, plus all of the components for a full-blown A/V experience. "The trick here was that I built a roll-out rack, so Larry, who owns CanAm Recording Studio, can change equipment whenever he wants," Casey explains. Currently, the capacious unit holds a Sharp 5- inch monitor with 8mm player for dubbing; ChannelPlus 3208 amplifier and D2V/UB digital modulator; Pioneer receiver, 100 disc CD changer, laserdisc player and PL 910 turntable; Sony VHS deck; Panasonic SV- 3 700 DAT player; HaflerPro5oo amplifier; and three JBLspeakers. Here, as in almost all of his cabinetry, Casey has provided access holes for cable: "I don't want anyone's drill bit near my furniture!" And he designs for maximum flexibility. "I don't limit clients to their original equipment size by making racks and face plates with zero clearance. I use racking cases that are a minimum of 19 inches and will hold professional components." A third unit, built for musician Quincy Jones, was created from an antique pine armoire. "The challenge here was to keep the original intent of the piece but make it accommodate a large television. I made a new cabinet, thirteen inches deeper, added fluted columns, constructed additional crown molding, duplicated the carving, peeled the face off of the antique, and put it on the new piece. I don't think anyone can tell where one ends and the other begins." Although Casey does not set himself up as the arbiter of perfect taste, he would not be an artist if he didn't hold some strong opinions. "My personal prejudice is that I think a television should be in plain view with easy access. If people want pocket doors, I try to talk them out of it because it is an expensive option and in my experience one not used after the first few months. The doors end up pocketed forever. But of course my clients should have what they want."
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