Ipe Deck with Outdoor Shower and Inset Stone

This deck makes a perfect outdoor grilling and lounging area. Equipped with a luxurious outdoor shower, it makes it easy to cool off in the summertime.

The rooftop garden features a series of low-voltage LED lights that run along the edge of the upper and lower decks creating a dramatic effect at night. The lights are inset into the ipe boards so that the surface is completely smooth.

All of the ipe was milled to precise widths to ensure that the removable decking sections would line up perfectly. Below is a view of the elevated train through beach grass. The custom planter boxes are painted to compliment the steel railing behind and are created at various heights to mirror the surrounding cityscape.

Rooftop Terrace Overlooking the East River

This penthouse terrace is wrapped in custom ipe planter boxes to create an idyllic environment overlooking the East River.

Every corner on this project features 45 degree miters with hidden splines glued into the seam. This creates the cleanest attainable look with the strongest possible joint.

Below is an example of a "butt-joint", which still looks very handsome, but the seams are visible.

The boxes include an ipe base that has been contoured to follow the sloping angle of the tile deck.

The whole project compliments the stunning view of the East River.

Solid Maple Sliding Doors with Frosted Glass

This project created a private office in the corner of an open bedroom, also making an elegant transition between the rest of the house and the client's bedroom. The doors are made of solid maple and mounted to the ceiling with hidden whisper-quiet ball-bearing guides.



The inset windows are frosted safety glass which creates a glowing effect when sunlight hits them from behind. The overall affect is one of tranquility and peace-of-mind.

Below is the hidden office space with maple shelves and cabinets.

Shelving and Cabinetry

City Beautiful Carpentry can build ANY kind of interior cabinetry. Built-ins and free-standing shelving units can be made out of any material with any finish.
We specialize in working within unique interior spaces and old New York City architecture to create shelving that is so precise that it can make the rest of the room look square and level.
You can choose your material from any available foreign or domestic wood and finishes. As you decide on the specifics of your project, we will advise you on the "greenest" and most environmentally conscious alternatives for your project.

We also use some of the cleanest tools and dust collection systems to ensure that your home stays clean and usable while we are installing your new cabinetry.

Furniture: Outdoor and Indoor

City Beautiful creates all kinds of custom furniture for the finest interiors and the lushest gardens. We can also fix and refinish antique pieces that have fallen into disrepair.

Below is a walnut dining room table that also transforms into a guest bed. You'll have to call us for a description of how that happens, but trust us, it's a transformer.


The wrought iron on this bench is nearly 200 years old, and the original teak was ravaged by weather and time. We made an exact copy of the original wooden slats and gave this amazing antique (and it's identical partner) a new lease on life.The coffee table below is an example of a more modern design. We can work with your designer, or we can help you design a custom piece yourself.


We can make any kind of furniture for outdoor settings, but the 2 images below are examples of furniture that has been integrated into a larger fence and garden design. This ipe set turned the extensive brickwork into a lounge area.And the BBQ table and bench (below) is also a storage cabinet. By lifting the bench seat, the client can access all of their gardening tools and BBQ equipment.

Below is an ipe slatted bench and fence project.

Planter Boxes and Storage Cabinets

We offer a complete selection of planter boxes and custom storage cabinets. We build using all types of wood including ipe and cedar. All of our planter boxes are made with marine-grade plywood and are lined with roof-grade rubber. All exposed edges are treated and painted, which insures they will last longer than any other wooden boxes that you can find.

This is a selection of trash cabinets from various parts of Brooklyn and Manhattan. The one below is made from ipe, which we showcase the different shades of the wood in the continuous stripe pattern of the doors.
Ipe is strong and resilient to the weather, and if treated properly can last more than 15 years.

All of our planter boxes are built with adequate drainage, so that the plants will thrive, and water will move easily out of the box, preventing rot.

Thom Filicia- Interior Designer

Thom Felicia, known for fabulous and detailed interior design (and made more famous through the TV show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, recently included a City Beautiful Carpentry custom planter box as a part of one of his designs.

You can currently see our planter as a part of the House Beautiful Magazine 2009 Designer Visions Showcase at the Soho Mews.


A touching testimonial from Thom ...

"Your professionalism and responsiveness-as well as the quality of your work-helped make this project a success..."

(click image to enlarge and read entire letter)

Brooklyn Heights Backyard Garden Fence

This fence and arbor project utilized PureWood, a material made by baking American Southern Yellow Pine until its natural resins evaporate, leaving a wood that will last for up to 15-20 years outside. This garden project was designed by Flo's Gardens, a Brooklyn-based landscape architect.
New to America, this process has been in use in Europe for 15 years, and allowed this client to use a material that is not only handsome, but made from domestic, easily replenished pine.
Here are some shots of the garden before we got to work.We removed the old fence, hired a local mason to reinforce the retaining wall, and then installed the new fence, arbor, and lattice.
And when we were done, the new garden looked like this...

Custom Lattice Teak Railing, Deck, and Staircase

Voted one of Deck World's top decks of 2008, this backyard showpiece combines a complex lattice-work with smoothly sloping handrails.

Teak Fence and Backyard Garden Deck

A modern design using reclaimed teak from china. By using reclaimed wood, this client ensured that no trees were felled to create his ultimate backyard meditation garden.