Be Merry!

We are incredibly busy here at Furniture From The Barn... All of our Christmas orders are being shipped out this week and we have our company holiday party this Thursday..

Woosshh so much going on!

Putting all the craziness aside there's one pastime dedicated to this time of year that everybody here at FFTB "makes time" for---  watching Christmas movies! There's nothing like finishing up chores as the day is dwindling to a close, heading inside, and warming up near the woodstove in front of the television while being serenaded by Bing Crosby and George Clooney's aunt (know which movie I'm talking about?!?)

 

Here is some of our crew and their favorite flicks ---

Pictured above is our shop artisan (elf) Patty and pictured to the right is our wonderful administrative assistant Eleanor and husband-- Both these lovely ladies enjoy "Its A Wonderful Life"

 Pictured below on the left is Paul... (just kidding, he's to the right... and not the dog) but getting back on track, Paul our wonderful shop/delivery/plays with Lila all day guy likes "A Christmas Story"

 
 

 

Pictured above to the left is Caitlyn (me), the everything stewardess and aspiring entrepreneur, loves all Christmas movies but favors Irving Berlin's "A White Christmas"

These below might help to justify why... As if you need any justification

Sorry, I couldn't resist...

Pictured above is power couple and parents of FFTB Michael & Kelly--

Mike didn't necessarily pick "The Christmas Card" as his favorite but he watches it at least 4 times a week... we don't understand either

And mother hen Kelly Kelly loves to watch the true Christmas story "The Nativity" 

We hope we inspired you to go watch a Christmas movie tonight and be merry! From all of us here at Furniture From The Barn Merry Christmas and remember the reason for the season

Dusty the Dog

Dusty with our golden retriever Lilla.

This year Furniture from the Barn has partnered with Dogs Deserve Better, an organization that literally frees dogs from their chains. 

The businesses philosophy of bringing new life to 18^th century recycled barn wood is similar to the philosophy our family has adopted towards the “throw-away” members of our society.

Our design studio, workshop and office are situated on our family farm in Chester County, PA. Although we live in picturesque surroundings we occasionally come in contact with animals chained by the neck and sometimes denied the basic needs that all living creatures deserve. This summer our family got the privilege to rescue Dusty from such an environment.

Born and raised on a farm, Dusty had the liberty to freely roam. Although the life of a farm dog isn’t bad, Dusty found himself getting into trouble more than once by “playing” with the neighbor’s chickens. The neighbor wasn’t at all happy by this and was threatening to shoot Dusty if he ever came back on his property. In order to keep Dusty from being harmed his owner chained him inside one of the barns not knowing what else to do. This became Dusty’s new life. Life on a chain for any living, loving creature is no way to live. Morning and night, day after day Dusty's life was limited to a 10 foot radius.

We met Dusty on our weekly travels for the business and discovered what a sweet dog he was. After being made aware of the owners predicament we let him know that we would be able to find Dusty a good home should he ever want to part with him. After what seemed like a very long time, Dusty’s owner approached us about giving Dusty up. We didn’t waste any time contacting the rescue group Dogs Deserve Better Before Dusty could be put up for adoption he had to be deemed safe and trainable. We began weeks of training and looking for potential new homes for our rescued boy. Everyone here at Furniture From The Barn played a special part in fostering Dusty and showing him love and kindness. In no time he went from a chained animal with no manners to a sweet, attention loving dog. 

It didn’t take very long for the smiling pup to be spotted, no pun intended ;) Dusty is now an ‘only child’ and soaking up all the love and attention he can get. He lives with a couple who has rescued dogs that were once unwanted and/or needed special care, and gave them a second chance at life and some much needed love. We all agree that our rescued boy Dusty will never have to know life on a chain again.
     

Here at Furniture From The Barn we continue to move forward towards a vision where the unwanted members of our society have a chance at a "new life"!

Dusty with his new family

Kelly saying good bye to Dusty

What to look for in a Farmhouse Table

FOR MOST OF US, THE KITCHEN is the most popular room in the home for talking and dining while preparing a meal. That is why the Farmhouse table has become the number one furniture piece to purchase. Its large, rectangular design was made sturdy and solid for heavy use in a home on the farm. Today they serve as dining tables, work surfaces, and desks. A typical farm table is made with planks running from end to end, with straight or turned legs, sometimes with a shelf and drawers for storage. When buying a Farmhouse table you should look for the following:

THE SIZE OF THE TABLE – Is the table large enough for your needs? As there are many different sizes of farm tables to choose from, you need to ensure that the one you have chosen is large enough or small enough for your home. Furniture From the Barn custom builds all its tables to match dimensions given by the customers. 

THE TABLE– The legs are the foundation of the table and should be firmly attached in order to support the table and express the style of your home. Furniture From the Barn has 5 designs to choose that could compliment any décor, whether cottage, country or a city.

THE SPECIES OF WOOD - Wood products are known for their natural beauty, but when selecting a type of wood for your Farmhouse table, it is important to consider the level of durability. Each type and species of wood varies widely, and some may not be durable enough to withstand heavy wear and tear. Furniture From the Barn uses reclaimed wood from 18^th century barns in the PA area. This assures the customer that the table they purchase is made of solid wood that will last a lifetime.

Furniture From the Barn attends Cheyenne Frontier Days!

This summer has flown by, its already the end of July! We have been super busy here at FFTB making beautiful reclaimed barn wood furniture. But fortunately The Furniture From The Barn family was able to escape and spend a week soaking up and reliving the wild west of beautiful Wyoming visiting family. We spent a few days at Cheyenne Frontier Days getting to see our cousin, Chloe, be the 2013 Miss Frontier

 

After watching the rodeos of "The Daddy of 'em All", going to some awesome country concerts (Alan Jackson..my fav!) and doing a good amount of boot and turquoise jewelry shopping we traveled across the state, in a RV, heading northwest to the beautiful Teton mountains...

 

 

Just a little glimpse of the breath-taking scenery. We feel so blessed to have the opportunity to spend time as a family in some of God's amazing creation! We hope your enjoying these long, beautiful summer days as well :)

1813

Greenhouse Farm, the home of Furniture From The Barn, turns 200 hundred years old this year. On the corner stone of the farmhouse that the Kelly family call home are the initials SPW and the year 1813. The initials SPW stand for Samuel and Phoebe Wilson, the first family and generation to cultivate this land and to build a homestead from the ground up. Phoebe Wilson was originally Phoebe Mason, daughter of the confederate and the founders of the Mason-Dixon Line. 

It's common knowledge that farmers and ranchers alike built there outbuildings before building the farmhouse so we believe that Greenhouse Farm may have an even older birth year than 1813. As two centuries have passed many families and friends have worn the wooden floors in the halls of the old house, and a number of different farm animals, crops, and equipment have found shelter from the old bank barn. The wear of the weather, and the aging of the years may have taken a physical toll on the original structures but has only added to the rich history of a lifestyle that America was built upon, living off the land. Furniture From The Barn's creation and mission is rooted from the passion of reusing and re-purposing barn wood into beautiful furniture pieces that hold stories of the past and serve a purpose for the future. 

The Armoire We Built Featured in Country Living Magazine

Yesterday I got a call from a friend who wanted to tell me about her recent visit the her doctor’s office. She excitedly explained to me that while sitting in the waiting room before going in for examination she noticed on the coffee table the current issue of Country Living Magazine. Excited to see our featured armoire, she anxiously flipped through the pages... confused, when she couldn’t find us, she realized that the pages featuring our armoire had been ripped out! An anonymous doctor’s office patron committed a crime by vandalizing private property! However, we are flattered knowing that a picture of our beautiful armoire was fabulous enough to steal. J

How to Crackle!

I’m pretty sure everyone has seen the ever popular crackle finish on furniture, walls, flower pots, picture frames, etc.  at some point in time. Per customer request, here at Furniture From The Barn, we attempted our first piece of furniture with a crackle. Let me tell you, it was not that easy. It took a couple of tries to get it right and we are leery of doing so again as it was time consuming and maybe a tad frustrating, but we don’t need to talk about that! However, with practice comes perfection (or atleast that’s what I’ve always heard) so maybe if we give it a go a few more times we’ll get the hang of it…

I want to share our first crackling experience with you all. Perhaps you will learn a few things, or maybe you have done this in the past and can provide some words of wisdom.

Here is a list of materials you will need:

1.       two paint colors (Mustard Yellow & Black realmilkpaint.com)

2.       crackle medium “natural crackle” (realmilkpaint.com)

3.       paintbrushes

4.       drop cloths

5.       masking tape

Our customer wanted her cabinet painted first with Mustard Yellow milk paint and then painted black allowing the black paint to crackle and show the yellow through the cracks.

Our first step was to prepare the wood to be finished. We filled all nails holes and sanded the piece.

Once the wood was prepped we were able to start painting. We used Mustard Yellow Milk Paint (see previous milk paint blog for instructions on how to properly paint using milk paint.) We gave the cabinet two coats of yellow as you really want the paint to be opaque so when the top coat crackles the under coat is bright and shows through beautifully.

Next, pour some "Natural Crackle" into a container and add water until you reach a consistency that can be brushed or rolled. Tip: the thicker the "Natural Crackle", the larger the cracks. The thinner the mixture is the smaller the cracks. You can adjust the mixture to achieve the crackle paint results you are looking for. Brush the "Natural Crackle" over the dry milk paint. Allow "Natural Crackle" to dry (30 minutes to 2 hr.) If you want more or better crackling in your crackle paint, apply a second coat of Natural Crackle over the previous dry coat. Allow to dry. You can wait as long as you want for the crackle paint to dry. There is no real window - 2 hours or 2 weeks - it does not matter (realmilkpaint.com)

Once you’ve painted the piece with your crackle paint medium and allowed it to dry, you are now able to paint the top coat. Our customer chose black milk paint. We did a lot of experiments in regards to timing and how long to allow the crackle paint to dry before adding the black paint. We decided that waiting about an hour and a half was our best outcome.

Now that the black milk paint has dried, you can seal your piece of furniture with Tung Oil. It’s best to use an oil based sealer as opposed to water based. The Crackle paint and Milk Paint are water based so a water based sealer will ruin your work.

I wouldn’t say we were overly thrilled about the outcome of this project… We definitely want to try it a few more times. We will post pictures of the finished piece soon!

We would love to hear about all of your experiences with crackle paint DIYs. Looking forward to your comments!

Drover

We are pleased to announce that we have a new addition at our farm. His name is Drover. Drover is a six month old cattle dog mix. He was found by Caitlyn, while she was away at college in North Dakota. Poor Drover had been left in a box on the side of the road. Caitlyn picked up Drover in mid-October. The temps in North Dakota during that time were already well below freezing with snow blanketing the ground. Can you believe anyone would be so cruel to leave a puppy on the side of the road to freeze? Caitlyn is home from college now and Drover is one happy dog. He plays every day with our Goldens, Lila & Hunter.

Please adopt and rescue. There are so many dogs that need homes.

"The purity of a person's heart can be quickly measured by how they regard animals."

 

Drover and Lila

January Blues

Well… the holiday season is over. I bet some of you are happy about this. I totally understand the craziness and the stress levels that arrive with the holidays, but I think the January blues are worse. I would take the stress of December over the hum drum of January any day. If you are anything like me, then you can relate to the high during the holiday season and the low that tends to happen during the months that follow. I mean, let’s be honest, stressful situations aside, the holidays are great! There are plenty of parties to attend, meals to eat, cookies to bake, egg nog to drink… not to mention gifts! Some of us even get to enjoy a little time off from work… But then comes January… after the excitement from New Year festivities dies down… what is there to do? For those of us living in the North East; not a whole lot. It’s freezing outside, gray and dreary… and it’s probably going to stay this way for the next few months. Considering the temperature and the short days with limited sunlight, I bet you are spending a lot of time inside. Being a creative person, I find it hard to just accept a space for the way it is. I am always imagining what to change. Sometimes when my fiancé and I are watching a movie he will catch me looking all around the living room… looking at everything but the TV. He has stopped asking what I am doing, because he already knows. I am decorating our apartment in my mind! Please tell me I’m not the only one who does this… there have got to be others out there!

Since you are sitting at home, bored, staring at the walls, why not dedicate this time to design? Really take a look around your home and focus on what you want to change. Are you sick of your dining room table? Have you been putting off painting the family room for the past few months? Do you need new dining room chairs? Or is there a Pinterest project that you’ve been thinking about for months? Now is the time to do it! Here at Furniture From The Barn we love great design, here are two tips we wanted to share with you.

1.       Buy it once. Buy it right.

I can’t even begin to describe how important this is. How many times have you bought something cheap just to fill the space and find yourself hating it in just a few short weeks… or even just as soon as you bring it home? Not only do you end up having buyer’s remorse, but you will eventually replace it with something you actually want, therefore, spending more $$$$$. Sometimes it’s better to live without while saving the cash to buy exactly what you want than it is to waste your money on something cheapo! When you order a custom piece from Furniture From The Barn, you know you are receiving exactly what you want from paint color to wood species to custom design. Our pieces of furniture are quality, classic and built to last. You will hand these pieces down to your grandchildren.

2.       Recycle! Upcycle!

Of course we feel strongly about taking the old and making it new again because that’s what we do here at Furniture From The Barn. All you need is a little creativity and know how. If a custom designed piece of furniture isn’t in your budget, why not check out what’s on Craigslist or at GoodWill? There are usually some older pieces of furniture with good bones that just need a little TLC. Get some sand paper and paint and get to work! If you need any supplies or tips you know who to contact (us)!! Once you’ve finished, you will love your piece of furniture so much more because you worked hard to make it beautiful. Let us know how it turns out and send some photos!

Hope these tips inspire and motivate you.