Creative Geniuses: Our Favorite Woodworkers

Jeff Devlin, host of DIY Network’s Stone House Revival, is a licensed contractor with more than 20 years of building experience. He started as an apprentice for a historic home remodeler where he honed his skills in the trade and gained an appreciation for the craftsmanship and beauty of historic dwellings.

In the show, Jeff and his team of restoration experts transform Pennsylvania properties – some over 200 years old – into modern living spaces while preserving the home’s historic integrity.

Off camera, Jeff’s love for historic homes has led him to completely renovate two centuries-old Pennsylvania farmhouses, one of which he calls home. 

For one of the Stone House Revival renovations, Jeff built this colonial-era secretary’s desk. The desk features a hinged top that opens flat to create a writing surface and behind the double doors lies bookcase-style shelving. Jeff used a deep wine-colored stain for the desk then after staining the entire piece, he distressed the edges with sandpaper. Positioning the finished desk next to the authentic bread oven with an antique cross-back chair makes for a cozy writer’s nook.

A few feet from Jeff’s Pennsylvania farmhouse sits an old barn filled with tools and reclaimed wood of every shape and size. Some of Jeff’s most cherished tools are the ones handed down from his father and grandfather.