Scheiner Meister Dannecker Does It All
By Chris Manson January 4, 2004 Issue

When award-winning architect Leon Krier needed new furniture built for his celebrated house in Seaside, he called on Swiss Master Cabinetmaker Markus Dannecker. Krier—the first to receive the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture’s Richard Driehaus Prize for Classical Architecture—had visited Dannecker’s shop in Santa Rosa Beach and liked what he saw.

Krier and Dannecker spent months faxing back and forth. Dannecker would render detailed drawings from the sketches Krier sent over from wherever he happened to be in the world. Dannecker and his crew completely redid the dining room, and they will return next year for additional renovations. “I’m lucky to work with him,” Dannecker said.

Dannecker, Inc. Designs & Fine Woodworking began in 1998. “I didn’t know anybody around here. I was fortunate enough to run into a few people who gave me a couple of jobs,” Dannecker said. A fifth generation cabinetmaker—his father continues to run a successful business in Switzerland—Dannecker can design and build more than his title implies. “We build furniture, cabinets—pretty much anything you can make out of wood—home interiors, kitchens, tables, coffer ceilings, entertainment centers.”

A recent project—a large house in Pensacola—took Dannecker a year and a half to complete. The job required him to build a kitchen, library and a huge dressing room with walk-in closets. Another piece required hardware that would allow the television to rise up out of the cabinet. “We purchased the TV lift and built a box around it,” Dannecker explained.

Although Dannecker’s clients are mostly residential, his portfolio includes work he did for a restaurant and bar. “The owner wanted something special, so he hired a designer who drew it out. It’s not just the look that makes it special, it’s the quality, trying to make something that will last,” he said.

The process begins when Dannecker makes a drawing for his client, to get an idea of size, form and how a finished piece will fit into a room. Next, a detailed “shop drawing” is completed—Dannecker works in metrics, not inches—and materials are ordered. Furniture is built in a huge shop equipped with mostly European machines—edge banders, vertical saws, a hot press for laminating and veneering straight pieces of wood. The machines are state of the art, though Dannecker admits that in this line of work he is “constantly having to keep up with the latest technology. When you go to trade shows, all the leading companies and woodworking machine manufacturers are European.”

Dannecker’s journey began with the traditional four-year apprenticeship in his homeland. The combination of trade school and work experience is required for licensed cabinetmakers. He spent the next five years getting practical experience with different companies as well as his father’s. Dannecker earned the title of scheiner meister (master cabinetmaker) shortly after.

Vacations with his wife—a native of New Orleans—inspired Dannecker to bring his art to this area. “We fell in love with the place,” he said. The Danneckers have no children, but a nephew recently started his apprenticeship in Switzerland.

Dannecker refuses to limit his work to a particular style or type of wood. His portfolio includes a “distressed” cabinet that was built like new. Once the finish was applied, Dannecker painted over the cabinet, beat it up and scratched off some of the paint to make it look worn. However, most of his work exhibits a more elegant appearance.

“Every wood has its own beauty. It’s all in how you place it, and the surroundings. I don’t really have a preference, but people tend to prefer mahogany which looks more rich, elegant. Lately, cypress has become quite common. It has a rustic look similar to pine or oak,” Dannecker said.

Dannecker currently employs a staff of four—two young men from Switzerland and two Americans. “Because we do a lot of special work, we had trouble finding qualified workers,” he said. A program called the Association for International Practical Training enables Dannecker to bring over trainees from Switzerland every 18 months. “They’re already certified and have all the skills required, but they also get to learn the different techniques we have in the United States.”

The master cabinetmaker confesses that he doesn’t have a lot of time to design and build pieces for his own home, which he described as “very clean and contemporary.” However, he hopes to build a new kitchen for himself and his wife in the near future. “I get enough work, and it looks like it’s going to expand,” Dannecker said. Should you decide to help Dannecker with his expanding business, he can be reached at 267-3432.

(Top)