Jonathon Dahl Woodworks

Old dairy farm transformed into workshop

Jonathon Dahl was used to working with his hands by the time he turned 10 years old. Raised in the Pacific Northwest, he grew up handcrafting doghouses, tree houses and even go-carts. These projects would later inspire him to open Jonathon Dahl Woodworks, through which he creates fully handcrafted custom wooden cabinetry and furniture for kitchens, bathrooms, offices and home theaters.

"When we would visit my grandfather in California, my brothers would be off doing whatever, but I would be in the garage working with my grandfather," Dahl said. "The work I do even today I learned from him."

After his family moved to Houston in 1988, this appreciation for woodwork led Dahl to study under industrial technology teacher Larry Carlton at Cypress-Fairbanks High School. While in high school, Dahl won several awards for his craft, along with the Stanley "Golden Hammer," by the time he graduated. During his junior and senior years of college, Dahl took on a project to renovate a coach bus while helping reconstruct a flood-damaged house. At that point, he decided he could make a career by working with his hands. After receiving his degree in business from Texas State University, Dahl's passion for carpentry continued to grow.

Dahl works and lives inside the former Matzke Dairy Farm, which sits at the end of a small side street off Grant Road. The house on the property where Dahl and his wife and two children live was built in 1919 and had remained vacant since 1960, he said. After renovating the entire home himself, Dahl was able to add modern-day amenities while holding on to the antique charm of the structure.