The 'Double Eagle' Saloon
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      Welcome to the Double Eagle Saloon! First, I would like to explain a little about the Double Eagle Saloon and how this project came to be. Using my imagination and my talent, the beginning stages of the saloon started with the initial idea of creating a full scale late 1800's gold mining town and saloon. James, the home owner, had the idea for a saloon and really enjoyed the nostalgia of this time period. He wanted me to incorporate this into his home somehow. Starting from artistic renderings on notebook paper, James ideas helped me create a new world for the Double Eagle Saloon. Working like a Disney "imagineer", I created this world from paper sketches to reality. Starting from a bare floor, I hand-built, hand-carved, hand-sculpted, and hand-painted everything in the saloon. James wanted to name the saloon the "Double Eagle", which comes from the famous gold "double eagle" coins that they used during this time. They emerged after the discovery of gold in California in 1848. Feel free to explore the creation of the "Double Eagle Saloon" in pictures. Enjoy!

   There are approximately 5 rooms that carry the theme of the late 1800's era. Included in these rooms are a saloon, billiard room, sitting room, bunk room, and bathroom. Entering the saloon from the second floor, I hand-sculpted a mine shaft and cave entrance, which is feels more like a ride you may see at Disney. I also created ore cart tracks that are boarded up for safety :) From these stairs, you enter the main part of the saloon. All the flooring in the saloon is built with 2" antique wood planks in varying widths.
Leading down to the bar from the second level to the third level is the hand-sculpted gold mine shaft. Made out of concrete, fiberglass, wood, and steel, this shaft really sets off the time period. I added pieces of gold in the walls, built a closed off mine shaft, and created the signage going down into the saloon. The sculpted cave walls were hand-painted and sealed for many, many mine dwellers and saloon goers.
   As a warning, I created the initial door leading to the shaft stating the warning, "Enter at own risk". This is the first transition point from the regular house to the "Double Eagle" saloon.
   The main bar was built using antique wood flooring and milled barnwood, which is hand-carved and stained in a rich brown color. The elbow rest was hand-carved out of excess floor planks and stained to match. Also, I decided to fan out the edges wood pieces on the flat part of the bar. This way, it not only accentuates the curves in bar, it enhances the grain of the "tiger" striped maple wood used for the top.
   Because there were some wood planks left over, I used the scraps to build several other fun things such as the "Double Eagle" saloon doors and the "Double Eagle" gun mount.
In the bar room and several other rooms, the walls were built using milled barnwood for half of the walls and hand sculpted and painted plaster above. Antique beams and an aluminum ceiling was used to really make the bar room look aged.
The pool room, or billiard room, was made with half barnwood and half three dimensional cave walls. This was a transition point for the floor moving from the total cave sitting area, through the pool room, and then towards the main saloon.
   The ceilings were done with silver aluminum tiles, which adds tot he beauty of the antique beams that I installed around the perimeter of the saloon and billiard room
Another great aspect of this saloon is the bunk room. At any saloon, the need for a quick bed is needed. After having beam material left over, I built these from scratch using the scraps. The bottom of each bunk bed is a full size bed with a twin above. Located underneath the top bunks is rope lighting to illuminate the beds in the evening.
Because the bunk room may need some privacy when visitors are sleeping one off, I built a sliding, hanging barn door built out of left over floor planks.
   In the bathroom, we installed an "old" style toilet with a pull rope to flush. After James saw a piece of furniture in a showroom retail establishment, he knew that he wanted a wash basin cabinet. Using the small picture of the one in the showroom, I used scrap milled barnwood that we had left over and built this cabinet. I built this cabinet using authentic tongue and groove, which looks like an authentic antique piece. Plus, it adds the look and feel of the time era even with running water!
What saloon would be a saloon without any Saloon lettering? To finish off the saloon fun, I hand-painted lettering on the back sliding doors in the saloon. From the inside, it sets off the nostalgia of being in a saloon and looking out.

Another aspect in the bar is this mirror. Signifying and putting the stamp on the "Double Eagle" saloon, we picked up a beveled mirror and placed it above the bar. Making it more suited for the saloon, I hand-painted the lettering on the mirror so everyone will know where they are

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