Prairie Wood Workshop

Custom woodwork rooted in craftsmanship, detail, and natural materials. We design and build cabinetry, furniture, and spaces made to be lived in and last.

Bill Edgar Woodworks is a custom woodworking shop specializing in providing services and products that meet the needs and desires of its' clients. After over twenty-five years of working in and operating custom cabinet shops, I have a wide range of experience and skills. Early on, I was lucky to work in two shops that specialized in producing and installing custom cabinetry for homes. The owners o

f both shops were experienced craftsmen and I was fortunate to learn the trade from men that had so much talent and experience. My years at Eno Cabinet Works not only increased my skills and knowledge of producing fine cabinetry, but also added furniture repair and refinishing to my resume'. As a shop known for fine cabinetry and great finishes, it was a great place to learn and sharpen my talents. For the past five years, after Eno Cabinet Works closed, I have been operating Bill Edgar Woodworks as a custom woodworking shop. I have had the opportunity to do a variety of projects for people. Some weeks, I spend all my time refinishing furniture for clients. Then I might work for a month to produce a set of kitchen cabinets. I guess if I were to boil it all down, I would say that the Mission of Bill Edgar Woodworks is as follows:

To use the skills, talents and experience that I have accumulated to provide woodworking services to people, in a positive way, to add beauty and convenience to their lives. And by providing those services be able to help support my family. I do quite a variety of work and some of the projects are very small and some are quite large. I am more than happy to discuss any project with you to see if we can make it happen. The following is a list of services I offer:

Custom cabinetry for kitchen, bath,home office, or family room. Furniture repair

Furniture Refinishing

Closet Organizational units and shelving

Kitchen Islands

Refacing cabinetry

Refinishing cabinetry

Creating custom furniture

Commercial Cabinetry

Misc. woodworking projects

I will be glad to schedule an appointment to discuss any project you might be considering. Bill Edgar

04/09/2026

With the pull of a book, this custom bookcase doubles as a secret door that will eventually lead to a basement speakeasy.

For now, the space is still in progress, which makes the vision even more fun to imagine.

We’re looking forward to seeing it all come together.

Bill and Martha

09/18/2023

When your first home has only one bathroom and it is a 5 foot by 7 foot room, where do you put all of your stuff?

That was the dilemma faced by our son and daughter-in-law when they recently bought a fixer upper. The solution proved to be custom, white oak cabinets with as much storage as we could give them. A small vanity with three drawers built to fit around the plumbing, a recessed medicine cabinet and a large cabinet over the toilet, makes this bathroom work for them!

If your bathroom isn't working for you, we'd love to visit to see if custom cabinetry can offer the solutions you need to make your life more organized and efficient.

08/19/2022

We are happy to support Community Crops, a local non-profit that empowers people to grow their own food! We found a vintage steamer trunk at the Habitat for Humanity Restore and gave it some TLC. The trunk will be available as a silent auction item at Community Crops' "Feast on the Farm" event happening tomorrow night. (Tickets are still available on the Community Crops website.)

Check out the before and after pictures below. We tried to lose the rust but keep the very fun patina! Should make someone a very useful coffee table or blanket chest very soon.

04/19/2022

In April, we wrapped up a large project in rural Gage County. A young couple and their children recently became the fifth generation to live in the farmhouse built on her family’s homestead in the late 19th century. Wanting to continue the tradition of leaving the Victorian home more beautiful for the next generation, the couple contacted Bill in early 2021 about custom cabinetry for the whole house. We want to share pictures about this project and this month we are posting pictures of the kitchen and dining room.

The kitchen includes an island with seating for five along with an oak butcherblock extension. Mounted directly on the countertop and on either side of the sink are double cabinets with a set of drawers on the bottom. The stove hood is custom, and the refrigerator and dishwasher are paneled. The kitchen has a walk-in pantry with entry doors. To the left of the pantry is a drinks/bar area for entertaining. The dining room includes two built-in cabinets for serving ware and board games built in the same style as the kitchen.

Included are pictures of some of the storage solutions that Bill hand makes for many of his kitchens: adjustable drawer dividers, cookie sheet dividers, spice racks, trash and recycling rollouts, and pull-out maple cutting boards. These homeowners requested some new things-a roll-out in the island with dividers for water bottles and a roll-out for their coffee maker.

We were thrilled to be part of this project! Bill had worked with this couple on the renovation of their previous home-a charming 1930s bungalow. Helping this couple turn an already beautiful house into their family’s “new” home was a privilege. Pictures of their master bedroom and bathroom cabinets will be posted next month!

03/26/2022

We recently installed custom cabinets in a lovely historic home south of downtown in Lincoln. Susan, the homeowner, is restoring her Victorian home to its former elegance, and we were excited to be involved in the project!

Knowing that true Victorian kitchens are not functional for modern living, Susan pushed her design inspirations up a few decades to the 1930s when many Victorian houses were updated for modern amenities (like indoor plumbing!) Using her set of green Jadite dishes as inspiration along with a picture gleaned from Pinterest, Susan asked Bill to design her a kitchen with custom inset cabinet doors and drawer fronts that included custom spaces for her beloved set of dishes.

Following several consultations with Susan in the space (including taking careful measurements of the vintage kitchen sink and beautifully restored Roper stove that Susan had acquired for her dream kitchen) Bill created drawings. And because the cabinet fronts were so unusual, Bill made mock-up doors and drawer front for her to see and approve.

Modifications to the design, including the addition of a solid, yellow pine countertop to the long bank of cabinets and matching shelves for above the stove, were made and work began.

Installation of this lovely and fun kitchen began several weeks later. Supply chain issues have delayed the installation of the 6 inch wide crown molding around the tops of her cupboards and Susan is still determining what the kitchen needs for a backsplash, but as you can see below, Susan’s dream kitchen is becoming a beautiful reality!

Fun custom touches to the cabinets include corbels below the uppers, feet below the long bank of cabinets, a pull out cutting board and a deep pantry cupboard next to the dishwasher. Even though this is a small space, every inch was utilized to give Susan a working kitchen that feels right for a historic home.

Congratulations to Susan for having the vision and determination to restore this lovely old home. We thank her for allowing us to be a part of the process.

Stay tuned for pictures from another job: A Victorian farmhouse gets modernized for a young family who is the fifth generation to make it their home!