The Garrison

Hood River, Oregon

Designed Around the Fire

Custom Firewood Storage + Flush Steel Hearth

The Garrison House needed a wood-stove corner that worked hard every day and still read as part of the architecture. de stijl FORMS designed and fabricated a bespoke steel firewood storage system and an integrated hearth plate, developed together as one piece rather than as a stove pad and a separate rack.

The clients brought a single reference photo of the look they wanted. de stijl FORMS turned that image into a buildable, fully engineered piece, modeling every component in CAD before any steel was cut so the box, the plate, and the connections between them were resolved on screen and assembled cleanly on site.

Finished wood-stove corner in a Hood River, Oregon home with a custom satin black steel firewood box and a 5x8 flush steel hearth plate, designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS.
Wood stove beside a custom satin black steel firewood box on a flush steel hearth plate in a Hood River, Oregon home — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.
Custom steel firewood storage box with folded steel shelves, stocked with split firewood next to a wood stove — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.
Close-up of a black steel hearth plate set flush with a fir wood floor, showing the clean transition between steel and wood — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.

Flush with the Floor

The hearth plate was cut from a single 5' × 8' sheet of ¼-inch steel and countersunk flush into the finished floor. The recess was worked out in the renders before any flooring was cut: the floor was cut back and the plate set on a layer of cement backer board, so the steel rests on a noncombustible base and lands level with the surrounding wood.

Instead of sitting on top as a raised pad, the plate reads as part of the floor while giving the stove the heat protection it needs. The stove itself only required a set distance from the wall. The 5' × 8' size was a design choice, scaled to the footprint of the firewood box so plate and box read as one composition.

CAD render showing where the wood floor is cut back to recess a steel hearth plate flush with the finished floor — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.
CAD render of the cement backer board layer that sits beneath the recessed steel hearth plate — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.
Steel hearth plate recessed into the floor so its surface sits flush with the surrounding wood flooring — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.
Edge detail of a steel hearth plate meeting the wood floor flush, with no trim or transition strip — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.
Black steel floor plate meeting warm wood flooring at a crisp, flush edge — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.
5x8 black steel hearth plate test-fit on sawhorses in the sunlit second-floor room before being recessed into the floor — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.
Satin black steel hearth plate with countersunk fasteners set flush into a fir wood floor beside a woven rug — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.

Folded, Not Welded

The firewood box measures 4' × 4' × 22" and is built from laser-cut ¼-inch steel formed on a press brake. Rather than welding a frame from many small pieces, the parts were designed to assemble with a tab-and-slot interlocking system: every bent piece snaps into the next like a puzzle, so the whole box locates itself before a single weld goes in.

Each tab is then plug-welded through its slot and ground flush, so the joints disappear into the plate. The only welds left visible are a few along the edges of the flanges and shelves. The result is stiffer than a welded frame and keeps the clean lines of folded plate.

Tab-and-slot joint on laser-cut, press-brake-formed steel parts that interlock like puzzle pieces — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.
Steel tab plug welded through its slot, ready to be ground flush on a custom firewood box — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.
Weld detail on a steel tab-and-slot connection during fabrication of a firewood storage box — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.
Raw steel firewood box with a center divider, assembled in the shop before finishing — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.
Raw steel firewood storage box standing in the fabrication shop before its satin black finish — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.
Corner of a steel firewood box back panel showing tab-and-slot connections plug welded through the slots — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.
Tab-and-slot corner joints on a steel firewood box back panel, plug welded and ground smooth before finishing — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.
Close-up of the tab-and-slot interlock where the steel back panel meets the top of a custom firewood box — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.
Back panel of a steel firewood box with a laser-cut tab locking into a slot in the top panel, a tab-and-slot joint plug welded and ground flush — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.

Bolted to the Hearth

The box doesn't just sit on the plate. Threaded inserts in the hearth plate let it bolt mechanically to the floor, so it stays put through daily loading and unloading, and it can still be unbolted for service.

Getting it in place was a project of its own. The box and the plate weigh roughly 300 pounds each. Both were carried into the house by hand and raised to the second floor with a manual crank lift before being set and bolted down.

CAD render of the countersunk bolt connection that fastens the firewood box to the steel hearth plate — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.
Threaded inserts set into a steel hearth plate to receive bolts from the firewood box above — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.
Roughly 300-pound steel hearth plate on a pallet, ready for delivery — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.
Installers carrying a heavy steel hearth plate into a Hood River home — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.
Installing a custom steel firewood box in the wood-stove corner of a second-floor room — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.
Steel firewood box set in place on the flush hearth plate in a bright, newly finished room — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.

Black on Black

Every component was finished in satin black powder coat, with black Cerakote hardware for durability and visual consistency. Plate, box, and fasteners read as one dark, continuous form beside the stove.

Satin was chosen together with the clients over a gloss black because it hides dust, scuffs and the everyday wear of a working firewood rack.

Finished living room with a wood stove, satin black steel firewood box, and flush steel hearth — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.
Satin black steel hearth plate meeting a patterned rug and wood floor in a finished living space — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.
Straight-on view of a satin black steel firewood box stocked with split wood — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.
Detail of a crisp folded steel edge on a custom satin black firewood box — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.
Homeowner lighting a wood stove beside a custom steel firewood box and flush steel hearth — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.
Lit wood stove with a fire burning next to a stocked satin black steel firewood box — designed and fabricated by de stijl FORMS in Hood River, Oregon.

Designed Around Daily Use

A firewood rack is one of the most-used objects in a house with a wood stove. At The Garrison, it got the same attention as architecture: details resolved in CAD, structure carried by the fabrication method, and a finish that lets it settle into the room. The result is a corner that is simple, permanent, and built to be used every day.

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