El Dorado Woodworks

We found ElDorado 10 years ago while shopping for an arts and crafts bedroom set. The cost for commercially available arts and crafts reproductions was high and we were nervous about the quality of the quarter sawn oak's grain that would be used. We decided that the process of working with a craftsman would more likely meet our expectation than ordering furniture from factory based upon pictures of finished pieces on the El Dorado web site. Richard worked with us to create an Arts and Crafts Master Bedroom set made of beautiful quarter sawn oak. Richard collaborated with us to design a one of a kind dresser that included elements from several historical pieces, and then built the dresser using wood from the same tree that has similar grain across all the drawer fronts.

All who have seen the bedroom set have complimented it, and have commented that it was too bad it wasn't in the living room. It has more than met our expectations. We decided earlier this year to work with Richard again to design a dining room set. We picked up a glass front cabinet from Richard's showroom sale and collaborated with Richard on the design of a set of ladder back chairs and a trestle table to go with it.

We combined several elements from existing ElDorado chair designs with design elements from books from the Arts and Crafts era to come up with a one of a kind design, that Richard executed in a stunning way in oak and leather. Richard chronicled the production of the furniture on Facebook so we have pictures of the entire, painstaking furniture crafting process.

The dining room is absolutely stunning with a complete ElDorado set of furniture in it. We couldn't be happier with the selection of quartersawn oak, the selection of the grain, finish and feel of the set, and the comfort of the chairs. We are looking forward to spending a lot of quality time around the table in the years to come.

About 10 years ago, we purchased a set of quarter sawn oak Mission bed room furniture from Richard. Our set includes a king bed, side lamp tables, high boy chest of drawers and large chest of drawers. We compared Richard's furniture with Stickley and other makers of Mission furniture before making our purchase and there really is no comparison. The components & manufacturing quality is superb and the hand selected quarter sawn oak is fabulous.

We recently moved from Houston to Fredericksburg into a restored 1915 German-style rock home. Our furniture is one of the hallmarks of the home, which was recently included in the annual Christmas home tour. People routinely asked about the furniture and thought it was vintage antique. Thanks again Richard!

We took in a Picture from a Magazine of a Bathroom Vanity that my Wife had. Richard and his Crew were able to Recreate it in 2 Different sized Cabinet plus a Matching Medicine Cabinet and Captured all the Detail that we Liked in the Photo. Excellent Workmanship and the Laquer Finnish is Gorgeous. These Guys are True Craftsmen who really take Pride in their Work. I would Highly Recommed them to anyone needing Fine Furniture, Cabinetry, or Trim Work in their Home

I have used El Dorado Woodworks many time over the years, going back all the way to the late 90's. Every piece that I have had built was built exactly to my specifications and is an absolute work of art. Since this is custom made furniture, naturally it is more expensive than department stores; however the tradeoff is that this is furniture you will keep for life and pass onto your heirs.

Each piece truly is a work of art. Richard Loper is amazingly talented and great to work with. I'd be surprised if there is anyone out there doing what he does at a higher level. He is in my experience the absolute best.

I contacted El Dorado Woodworks about furniture for my newly remodeled Arts and Crafts home in the Heights. Richard produced a home full of museum quality Arts and Crafts furniture, to precisely complement the dimensions of each room. When the contractor doing the mill work in the house announced after installing built in cabnetry that he didn't do stains and laquer, Richard stepped to to complete his job.

My only regret was to learn that Richard could have done the built in work too, if only I had known then. My experience with Richard leaves me with an impression of the highest quality work from a professional craftsman working at his peak. He remains my first choice in furniture.

I have had a great deal of experience with El Dorado Woodworks and it has all been positive. Richard has built several pieces of furniture for me and they have all turned out just as promised. His work is really top notch. Richard also built our kitchen cabinets and they are truly amazing. Everyone who comes over comments on how nice the cabinets look. And the best part is they don't just look good, they all work well too! I would highly recommend El Dorado Woodworks to anyone looking for custom furniture or cabinets.

Richard helped us duplicate an antique pine side table back in the 90's and produced a beautiful copy virtually indistinguishable from its twin. Since then Richard has built over 20 pieces for us, all in the arts and crafts style he helped us fall in love with. He collaborates with us to decide what it is we want and what options we might consider.

He has wonderful ideas and a sense of beauty and design that builds on our original desire, and the execution is flawless. He has even created built in pieces for our master bath, again in arts and crafts style. He is a truly gifted artist and craftsman.

I have ordered numerous free standing furniture items from Richard Loper at El Dorado. He has always produced very high quality pieces at fair prices. He is not the least expensive woodworker, but working with him is easy and he adds to the process with positive suggestions. Everything always arrives when promised with no compromises to workmanship.

The hand finishing is beautiful with good color and depth of finish. The lumber is very well selected to have complimentary color and grain. He has done pieces for me in quarter-sawn Oak, rift-cut Oak, highly figured Maple and ribbon stripe Sapele.

My husband and I bought a custom dining room table from El Dorado Woodworks and we could not be more happy with it. It is gorgeous! Additionally, Richard helped us with the design. I originally envisioned a square, Parsons-like table, but after some discussions and sketches, Richard's suggestion of a round table was the way to go. It really is just perfect for our house. I can't wait to acquire more pieces from El Dorado - and one day, a some fabulous kitchen cabinets!

Counting a dining room table/chairs, chair/ottoman, and settle/coffee table as one each, Richard Loper has built nine pieces for us over the years. I foresee us commissioning additional pieces from Richard until we have a piece, and usually several of his pieces, in every room of our house. We have had Richard make both historical reproductions of architect-designed furniture and custom pieces we designed ourselves.

Each time the quality of the woodworking and finish exceeded our expectations, even under the scrutiny of an architect's trained eye. I cannot recommend El Dorado Woodworks highly enough to anyone interested in commissioning replica or custom-designed heirloom quality wood furniture.