The anatomy of the theravadue:
engineering artistry in cherry wood
A custom millwork & fabrication case study
From the tiniest carved rosette to a fully framed sloped roof
When a client comes to us with a vision this layered — a fully carved cherry wood pavilion built around a sacred, ceremonial centerpiece — it’s not a single product. It’s an ecosystem of parts. The Theravadue project pushed our shop to design, mill, carve, and fit more than 92 individual custom components, ranging from sweeping roof rafters down to the smallest decorative rosette.
This is the kind of work we love most: architectural millwork where every element has to stand on its own and disappear into a unified whole. Below, we’ve broken the project down piece by piece so you can skim the structure or dive deep into the details — whichever you’re here for.
If you’re an architect, designer, builder, or homeowner looking for a custom woodworking and millwork partner that can execute fine detail at scale anywhere in North America, this is a good look at how we think and build.
Project at a Glance
- Material: Solid cherry wood throughout
- Scope: 65+ unique custom-fabricated components
- Disciplines: Custom millwork, hand and CNC carving, architectural fabrication, joinery
- Result: A single integrated installation — entrance, seating, columns, friezes, and a fully framed sloped roof system
Use the sections below as a quick map of the build. Each one is skimmable on its own.
QUICK MAP
Use the sections below as a quick map of the build. Each one is skimmable on its own.
Running down the slope is a full field of
custom rafters, intentionally fabricated in
different sizes to follow the geometry
of the sloped plane. Milling a run of rafters
where the dimensions change along the slope — and
keeping the spacing and profile reading as one clean
Rhythm — is precision millwork at its most exacting.
To tie the slope together, we built support beams that
run inside the rafter system, connecting the rafters
and locking the whole sloped roof into a
single rigid, finished assembly.
Frieze sits atop the pillar structure,
wrapping the central canopy.
Carrying a carved band cleanly across
the top of a freestanding
columned structure is a millwork
challenge in alignment and repetition
every module has toregister
perfectly with the next.
Above the columns sit a second set of
corbels crowning the pillars, distributing
the visual and structural load from the
canopy into the columns below.
Each was shaped to align with the
architectural rhythm of the rest of the installation.
The columns are the literal and visual core of the Theravadue.
The custom-turned and carved pillars support the entire central canopy structure
that rises above the seating. This isn't decorative columning bolted onto a
frame. The pillars carry the central structure that sits over the benches,
with the corbels and frieze layered on top. Getting the columns dimensionally
consistent, properly load-aware, and visually matched across the
set is core architectural fabrication work.
The ornamented centerpiece
spanning the columns,
layering relief carving directly
into the working architecture of the canopy.
A carved frieze caps the entrance,
crowning the door assembly
with continuous ornament.
The door face is built from custom carved decorative panels,
hand-finished as fine relief ornament rather than flat surface.
Carved corbels flank the entrance, framing the opening
and carrying the eye upward into the frieze.
Dedicated stiles fabricated for both faces of the door,
with grain and profile matched across the interior and exterior.
A matched pair of custom benches with scrolled ends and carved bases
furniture and architecture in one, honoring the
same profiles and grain as the surrounding work.
DETAILED
Description of each section
The Entrance Door
The entrance is where the eye lands first, so it carries the heaviest detail load in the entire project.
Decorative Carved Door Panels
The face of the door is built up from custom carved decorative panels, each one milled and detailed to read as fine ornament rather than flat surface. This is signature custom woodworking — hand-finished relief carving integrated into a working architectural door.
Door Stiles — Inside and Outside
We fabricated dedicated stiles for both the exterior and interior faces of the door. Matching the grain and profile across both sides is what separates true custom millwork from off-the-shelf assembly.
Door Infill
Between the structural members sits custom infill, milled to seat cleanly and carry the panel detailing without telegraphing any joinery lines.
Panel with Bell Cut-Out
One of the more specialized pieces: a door panel fabricated with a precise cut-out for a hanging bell. This is exactly the kind of detail that demands real fabrication discipline — the opening has to be structurally sound, dimensionally exact, and visually intentional.
Corbels - Structure That Looks Like Sculpture
Corbels appear in two distinct roles in this build, and both were custom carved.
Entrance Corbels
Flanking the entrance door are carved corbels that frame the opening and transition the eye upward into the frieze.
Pillar-Top Corbels
Above the columns sit a second set of corbels crowning the pillars, distributing the visual and structural load from the canopy into the columns below. Each was shaped to align with the architectural rhythm of the rest of the installation.
The Friezes - The Connecting Band of Detail
A frieze is what ties an architectural composition together, and this project has two.
Frieze Above the Door
A carved frieze runs across the top of the entrance, capping the door assembly with continuous ornament.
Frieze Above the Pillars
A second frieze sits atop the pillar structure, wrapping the central canopy. Carrying a carved band cleanly across the top of a freestanding columned structure is a millwork challenge in alignment and repetition — every module has to register perfectly with the next.
The Pillars & Central Structure
The columns are the literal and visual core of the Theravadu.
The custom-turned and carved pillars support the entire central canopy structure that rises above the seating. This isn’t decorative columning bolted onto a frame — the pillars carry the central structure that sits over the benches, with the corbels and frieze layered on top. Getting the columns dimensionally consistent, properly load-aware, and visually matched across the set is core architectural fabrication work.
The Twin Benches - Ceremonial Seating
Beneath the canopy sit two custom-built benches, designed as a matched pair. With their scrolled ends and carved bases, they function as both furniture and architecture – anchoring the space directly under the columned structure. Building seating that lives inside a larger architectural composition means the benches have to honor the same profiles, grain, and detail language as everything around them.
The Sloped Roof System
The most technically demanding portion of the project is the sloped roof / canopy framing, and it’s where our custom fabrication capability really shows.
Beams Over the Pillars
Support beams sit atop the pillars, forming the primary structure that carries the entire sloped plane. These are the backbone of the canopy.
Rafters Along the Slope — In Varying Sizes
Running down the slope is a full field of custom rafters, intentionally fabricated in different sizes to follow the geometry of the sloped plane. Milling a run of rafters where the dimensions change along the slope — and keeping the spacing and profile reading as one clean rhythm — is precision millwork at its most exacting.
Internal Support Beams Within the Rafters
To tie the slope together, we built support beams that run inside the rafter system, connecting the rafters and locking the whole sloped roof into a single rigid, finished assembly.
The result is a roof that reads as effortless from below but represents some of the most careful engineering and joinery in the entire project.
The Fine Details - Mouldings & Rosettes
The finishing layer is what makes a space feel complete.
Room Mouldings
We fabricated custom mouldings for the room, milled to wrap the space and transition cleanly between surfaces and planes.
Decorative Rosettes
And finally, the smallest members in the build: carved rosettes placed as decorative accents. These tiny pieces prove the point of the whole project — we sweat the millimeter-scale details with the same care as the structural spans.
The commission
A temple for the home, made to be passed down
A Pooja Mandir is the spiritual centre of a home. The place where a family gathers to light the lamp, ring the bell, and keep its faith. When our client came to us, the brief was simple to say and humbling to build: a mandir worthy of the name legacy.
What you are looking at across these notes is the journey of a single order number from the first approval drawing to the finished shrine. Every panel, every column, every leaf of the lattice was drawn, reviewed, signed off, and then cut, carved, and joined in our Toronto workshop. Ninety-two drawing sheets go into this piece. Below, we walk through the parts that matter most and how the people in our shop actually made them.
The material
why cherry
Cherry is a carver’s wood. It is dense enough to hold a crisp, fine detail. The kind a mandir lives and dies by, yet kind enough under the gouge that an artisan can read the grain and follow it rather than fight it. Its closed, even pore gives clean shadow lines in the deep relief work, so a carved lotus reads as a lotus from across a room.
We deliver our pieces unfinished. Cherry is famous for ripening – it deepens from a soft honey-rose into a rich, warm red over months and years of light. Finishing it to their own taste and, just as importantly, letting the wood settle into its new home.
Collaborating on Your Next Masterpiece
If your next project demands a “beat and pulse” that only custom woodwork can provide, our workshop is equipped to handle the most intricate requests. We understand that designers need a partner who respects the original design intent without altering essential details.
Custom Components
From sweeping mahogany arches to custom furniture legs and tambour panels, we bring your specific shapes to life.
Clean & Modern Aesthetic
We specialize in the minimalist, “clean” styles currently trending in North American architectural design.
Technical Reliability
Our team is experienced in collaborating with designers to fix visual complexities—such as fixing blur or scaling issues—without removing critical design elements.
Whether you are an architect in New York or a designer in Toronto, our facility is equipped to handle the most demanding custom architectural woodwork requirements, turning raw lumber into iconic landmarks.