Square Pedestals on Reclaimed Hemlock Dining Table

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Our reclaimed wood tables are available with many choices of metal or wood legs and bases. We introduced our 8″ solid round pedestal in 2012. New for 2013 is our 8″ solid square pedestal table.

The square pedestal shown here in antique matte black is a great option for maximizing seating around any table similar to our trestle tables and round pedestals, but with a less traditional or rustic style. The more modern square shape combined with the deep cut profiles provides a distinctly different look and feel to the entire table.

This customer chose to contrast richly colored reclaimed threshing floor with matte epoxy finish over the black pedestals and with black Philippe chairs.

This 60″ round table features a 10″ thick square pedestal. When viewed on the diagonal square pedestals appear thicker than round pedestals. Round pedestal tables are also versatile for seating anywhere around the table with no legs to interfere.

Our pedestal tables are available made from any of our reclaimed and rustic wood species and with or without our matte epoxy finish.

Sugar Maple Harvest Tables

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We recently found some local sugar maple logs that came from the trunks of trees in a mennonite sugar bush just down the road. The wood has some amazing and unique markings from being tapped for maple syrup. We have used our matte epoxy finish to fill in the tap holes. The tap holes are where the taps have been drilled and hammered in over the years to collect the maple sap

The milling marks from the local saw mill are partially removed, just enough to smooth out the table top, and highlight the variable colour wood grain.

We have decided to offer it finished one of two ways. This thinner clear coating leaves the texture of the milling marks intact, and has a more rustic feel.

While our matte epoxy finish fills in the saw marks and gives a slightly deeper colour tone to the maple. Both finishes include the maple tap holes filled with clear epoxy – not sap or syrup! The epoxy is reminiscent of a maple syrup coating but without any annoying stickiness or pesky ants. It is a fun and interesting way to re use and re purpose this wood that has an interesting story to tell.

We will design with you and build your table to suit your home. You can see some of our other reclaimed and rustic tables and get ideas for the table design you want. Stop by our showroom after the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival for a look!

 

Waterproof Indoor/Outdoor Epoxy Finish

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We recently made some reclaimed wood tables for a customer that needed to furnish a pool room and an open sun porch. We made a round pedestal table and rectangular coffee table that would suite the clients tastes, and also stand up to the extreme humidity and temperature changes.

We use specialized exterior grade epoxy and spray coatings that make it possible for our reclaimed wood furniture to be used outdoors, or in similar very humid and wet conditions.

Splashed pool water and extreme humidity will not damage the matte epoxy finish. It is designed to withstand prolonged direct contact with water. The chlorine will not damage the hardened coatings. Durability for everyday wear and tear is excellent compared to conventional furniture finishes. Our furniture is perfect for patios, porches or other backyard applications.

Our exterior top coat has the same matte sheen and soft silky texture that our customers have come to expect from all of our reclaimed wood furniture.

This round table will be used in the pool room during the winter months, and then in a screened porch for the summer months. It will be exposed to dew, some rain, and extreme temperature and humidity variations. Our exterior grade epoxy finish completely surrounds the top, and the exterior coatings completely surround the table pedestal and feet.

This round pedestal table also features our newest solid wood square pedestal. This one is 10″ thick. Our client was able to customize their custom furniture for style and function to suite their particular home application. We work with all of our customers to customize fine, functional furniture for their unique lifestyles.

 

Trestle Table Suite with Trestle Bench

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Here is a traditional trestle suite we made for a customer in Brockville Ontario recently. Our table styles and unique finishing are designed to be beautiful, of course, but are also very durable and highly functional. Well designed furniture should solve problems. The traditional trestle table design is versatile for seating anywhere along the table sides with no legs on the corners to get in the way. This same advantage makes it possible for the bench to be the same length as the table, and yet still push in completely under the table when not in use. This can come in very handy, especially in smaller spaces.

The feet of the bench are made slightly further apart than the feet on the table base.

You can see here that the edge of the bench seat lines up with the edge of the table top, and that the feet just pass by each other.

By adding 2 18″ basic leaf extensions, this compact suite can seat 4 on chairs, and then 6 on two benches. The total seating goes up from 8 to an impressive 12! Not bad for a 6′ table.

Like many of our reclaimed wood tables, this pine table top and bench top are finished with our premium matte epoxy.

The matte epoxy is very durable and practical. Combined with sturdy hand cut joinery and heavy duty construction, this suite will be a highly functional and very beautiful addition to this customers home for generations to come.

Reclaimed Wood Colours

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Our tables and cabinetry are built from reclaimed wood that has textures and grain features quite different from conventional new wood furniture. Our approach for many of our wood table tops is to leave the antique wood surface intact and not remove it to make the wood smooth. The  standard rules for staining and coating wood are much different for reclaimed wood. We use unique processes for different wood types and different wood surfaces.

Try wiping stain on this gray weathered barn board.

or this hand hewn elm beam

We have identified ways to colour this type of wood. Different woods and different surfaces require different techniques. Even different woods work better in certain colours. In some ways the colour choices for reclaimed uneven wood seems limited, but mostly we have identified ways to offer a wide range of colours on our one of a kind reclaimed tops. Our matte epoxy finish fills the top smooth and level. Here are a few table projects we have done recently to illustrate the colour option possibilities.

Band sawn elm harvest table with San Miguel stain and matte epoxy. Band sawn Elm is available in many colours.

Hand Hewn Elm trestle table with weathered wash and matte epoxy. This wood is suitable to lighter wash finishes to maintain contrast of the hand hewn texture.

Gray weathered barn board trestle table with gray wash. Barn board is suitable for earthy tones and gray tones. This table has gray tones…

While this modern parsons table top is the natural colour of gray weathered barn board which picks up on both earthy and gray tones 

This hand hewn elm modern parsons table shows our natural amber top finish. 

The versatility of reclaimed band sawn elm makes it easy to stain match colour to the existing restaurant decor. 

Reclaimed wood fine furniture has vast possibilities in all interior decorating and colour schemes and is not limited to log homes or country farm houses. Custom design your furniture your way, for your home.

 

Book Matched Table Tops From Reclaimed Beams

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Book matching of wood grain is a technique often used in the construction of fine wooden instruments and veneered fine furniture. It uses symmetry to enhance the natural beauty found in the variable patterns of wood grain. In solid wood it requires a log or beam to be milled “through and through” . We offer book matched tops on some of our new wood tables made from black walnut.

Book matching is used frequently for live edge tops. Through and through cutting is also how we mill our reclaimed elm beams. We select beams that are the right size to make a single table top from the same beam.

This makes it possible to make a reclaimed wood top with book matching. Not only are the knots and wood grain nearly symmetrical but also the cracks, worm holes and other rustic features that make reclaimed wood tops so appealing and unique.

This book matched top harvest table we made for a customer near Peterborough is made from a single reclaimed elm beam and stained “San MIguel”. The cracks, and holes are filled smooth with our matte epoxy finish. The variable and rugged features in the reclaimed historic elm are enhanced and preserved in a beautiful furniture piece made to last for generations to come.

Gray Weathered Barn Board Table

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Here is a reclaimed wood table with cool gray tones that still feels warm, rustic and inviting. Rich coloured wooden floors and occasional furniture accents have been used to contrast the gray tones in the barn board. The naturally aged reclaimed wood textures in the table and its rustic styling complement the warmth of the customers surrounding decor.

The raw material we started with is this gray weathered barn board. It has been worn thin and brittle. We use an engineered core to support the barn board on our table tops and counter tops.

All of the wood has deep grooves etched into it from a century of rain and snow. It has a silver gray cast from the bleaching UV rays of the sun. This rugged aged surface is what we preserve and turn into a functional table top. This particular wood was salvaged from an old order Mennonite farm only 2 minutes away from this customers table and home.

The boards are left intact and not cut or sanded down. The entire top is finished with our matte epoxy. Once finished the wood is permanently preserved and reinforced. The base of the table is our rustic 4×4 trestle style finished to match the top.

This sturdy and stylish base features traditional hand cut mortise and tenon joinery and a wide plank, threshing floor trestle down the middle. The wood surfaces are still textured but rubbed smooth so nothing will catch.

This table is made to last as long as the 100+ year old materials used to make it.

 

Trestle Table with 8″ Solid Pedestals

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Our pedestal style trestle table base is similar to our Traditional Trestle Table. The pedestal trestle base features 8″ thick solid wood turnings set on a heavy duty ogee foot, while our traditional trestle base uses a 2″ thick straight pedestal. Both styles feature sturdy traditional joinery made to last.

Trestle style tables are very versatile for seating as there are no legs on the corners. This customer chose to mix modern parsons chairs with our comb back arm chairs with their reclaimed hemlock threshing floor table.

The pedestal trestle table is available with leaves as are most of our tables. The leaf is installed on tracks contained within the table skirts. With each leaf installed 2 extra place settings can be added. It is possible to sit comfortably with chairs placed between the table feet or even directly in front of the foot.

Versatility, style, durability – Available in any of our standard wood species

 

Gloss Epoxy Finish

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Often our reclaimed wood tables are finished with our matte epoxy like this traditional harvest table made from reclaimed elm. It has a soft look and feel.

We also offer high gloss epoxy with a mirror like, or water wet gloss.

We finished this customers white oak table with high gloss epoxy. It has a modern styled metal base to complement her decor in a high rise condominium in Toronto. It is incredibly durable and easy to clean.

The gloss finish provides maximum shine and reflection from the wood grain of the solid wood top.

This lacewood and walnut coffee table has high gloss epoxy on the top. The highly reflective grain of the exotic lacewood is made brilliant by the crystal clear epoxy.

All of our table tops are available finished in either our matte epoxy or high gloss epoxy finish.

Reclaimed Wood – From Farm Function To Fine Furniture

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“behind any design or build with wood tells a story of why it was built that way”

Most of our work is built from lumber salvaged from Waterloo County bank barns. There are a lot of similarities of design in the barns scattered across Southern Ontario. The barns that we source our material from were built into the side of a hill, or bank, like this one near St. Clements. This banked construction allowed farmers to have ground level access to the livestock below and to the drive-in floor above.

The threshing floor between the lower level and the drive-in level is where the threshing machine was located. The threshing floors are grooved and impacted from over 100 years of wear and use. Much of the character that makes our threshing floor table tops beautiful is a direct result of that use.

It is amazing how these once overlooked, scarred planks of barn wood transform into the uniquely individual, tables worthy of being any home’s centerpiece. At first glance only old cobwebs, loose straw and dirt are evident.

This enormous wooden pulley was used to lift heavy bails of hay high up into the loft so it could be stored dry and out of the way. The boards are worn smooth over time. We use this granary board for our cabinets and table bases.

The elm support beams that make up the skeleton of the barn were squared by hand, and then notched together green. Underneath the heavy whitewash are the striking broad axe marks. Each chop mark and crack gives every hand hewn elm table top a truly unique look that serves as a reminder of the back breaking work it required to build this way.

Washed, kiln dried and stacked, the reclaimed lumber is now suitable for building furniture. The re-purpose of the older growth wood begins to tell a new story that is personalized to each customer.

The finished product preserves the past but is now transformed into beautifully functional fine furniture.