Military Mom Acquires a Yellow Pine Farm Table

Back in 2012, one of our customers came to visit us with her daughter.  After walking through our display room, she ordered a custom-made yellow farm table.  She asked if it would be possible for us to build and delivery it before the start of the Holiday season that year.

I knew it would be a tough deadline to meet.  But we were motivated to meet this challenge.

You see, the individual ordering this particular kitchen table serves as a nurse in the military.  As a working mom who has seen much suffering from war, she really wanted to enjoy a special time at home with her children before heading back into the Middle Eastern combat theater. 

Her nursing job entails picking up wounded soldiers right off the battlefield by helicopter.  She shared with us the reality of seeing some terrible things firsthand.  As it turned out, she was scheduled for re-deployment to Afghanistan just a couple days after Christmas.

She wanted (and we really wanted for her) to be able to sit down on Thanksgiving with her whole family together around a new custom yellow pine table!

Crafting a Yellow Pine Farm Table Made with Old Barn Wood

From our standpoint, yellow pine is typically a southern wood. It was logged and sent up north from Southern States on river barges.  Much of it probably came to us from the Carolinas during the 1700s and 1800s.

 Yellow pine is probably the hardest of the pines we use to build farm tables.  Table tops made from our stock of re-claimed yellow pine barn wood can range from 1 ¼” to 1 ½” thick.  (That feature is very important to some of our customers.)

We have, on a couple occasions, made yellow pine farmhouse tables with tops up to 2-inches thick.  The result is a very thick, heavy table.   Such tables are exceptions, not the norm.  We can build them though.

One noticeable quality of our yellow pine wood is its grainy texture.  One can also see its hues are definitely more yellow in color than modern species, which are fairly light in comparison. 

That being said, we often mix in darker pieces of yellow pine with the lighter ones.  There were certain elements that contributed to the coloring of these darker pieces.  Mixing them with lighter-colored boards offers a lovely contrast in the final product. 

A Yellow Pine Farmhouse Table for the Holidays

Along with her new farm table, our customer also had us build a bench and corner cabinet for her.  We all looked forward to the delivery of these pieces to her kitchen. 

 After originally placing her order, it seemed as if she almost couldn’t believe she’d found us here at Furniture From the Barn.  The old-world look of the yellow pine tables we showed her on display was exactly the look she was after. 

It turned out she’d wanted a table like this for a long time.  We’re so glad she let us be the ones to make it happen.

Of course, we know from experience that our customers love receiving a hand-crafted farm table from our shop any part of the year.  But for this military mom, receiving her yellow pine table just in time for the holidays in 2012 was the perfect time to enjoy it with her family.  For her, it was the best way to sit down to her first meal on a new farm table constructed with antique wood.

Please visit the following pages for even more information:

Furniture Gallery Page: http://www.furniturefromthebarn.com/reclaimed-barnwood-furniture-gallery.php

Farmhouse Tables Page: http://www.furniturefromthebarn.com/reclaimed-farmhouse-tables.php

Customer Showcase Page: http://furniturefromthebarn.com/customer-showcase.php

Have any questions?  Contact us anytime: http://furniturefromthebarn.com/contact-us.php

Table for a “Farm Girl at Heart” … Near New York City

Dolores discovered us about 3 years ago.  I remember our first phone chat.  It took place on a Sunday afternoon. 

I often don’t answer the Furniture From the Barn business line on Sundays.  Sundays are usually reserved for family time.  We go to church.  We have dinner together.  Stuff like that.  But I happened to answer the day Dolores and I first met over the phone. 

Dolores lives in North Jersey, just across from New York City.  Many of her family and friends work in NYC.  Much of her life is rooted near there. 

Yet, there is another side to her.  Even though anyone who knows Dolores can see clearly she is an Italian gal from Northern New Jersey, those who get to know her really well discover she is a “farm girl at heart.”

Drawn to a Farmhouse Table Built with Douglas fir Wood

When Dolores first contacted me, she was in search of a very square farmhouse table for her kitchen.  Photos of ones we’d built out of reclaimed Douglas fir barn wood immediately attracted her attention.  She ended up ordering one 48” x 48” in size.

Douglas fir wood is similar-looking to pine, but darker.  It also has a more refined look to it, meaning any knots in the wood are smaller and better defined than knots found in most pines.

We’ve found re-claimed Douglas fir barn wood often displays very red undertones.  Most individuals who love the appearance of Cherry are attracted to the Douglas fir pieces we design.   

Customers who want thicker table tops can get them in Douglas fir too.  It’s a harder wood and a very good choice for kitchen tables.

Moreover, we find more people wanting other types of pieces made in Douglas fir nowadays. It has become a popular wood for bathroom vanities and kitchen islands.  We’ve had lots of interest in those pieces of furniture in particular.

When It Came Time to Deliver Her Farm Table…

About the time Dolores’ table was ready for delivery, Michael and I were scheduled to display some of our pieces at a furniture show in North Jersey.  As it turned out, this show happened to be only about 10 miles from her home.

It was the perfect opportunity to deliver her new kitchen table.  That was only the beginning of our time with her, however.

When Dolores discovered we were going to be in her area, she insisted Mike and I stay at her home.  Not only that, she volunteered to help us at the furniture show.  And on top of that, she cooked delicious meals for us throughout our stay with her.

To say we were smitten by her kindness would be an understatement.

One thing none of us knew at the time was that first table we custom-built for Dolores would end up being the start of a whole interior home make-over.  Her journey began with that farmhouse style table.

Among the furniture we’ve been privileged to build for Dolores are: a dining room set, living room set, hutches, chairs, and sideboards.  Most recently, Dolores asked us to build an Oak bedroom set -- as a present for her husband. 

Looking back now, it’s easy to see how all my conversations with Dolores over the years have allowed us to become close.  Neither my husband nor I knew, however, this “farm girl at heart” would turn out to be such an amazing person and friend!

 

Please visit the following pages for even more information:

Furniture Gallery Page: http://www.furniturefromthebarn.com/reclaimed-barnwood-furniture-gallery.php

Farmhouse Tables Page: http://www.furniturefromthebarn.com/reclaimed-farmhouse-tables.php

Customer Showcase Page: http://furniturefromthebarn.com/customer-showcase.php

Have any questions?  Contact us anytime: http://furniturefromthebarn.com/contact-us.php

Cloud, the king cat

It’s march 2^nd and they’re calling for more snow! I don’t know about y’all but were ready for some sunshine and the blooming of some pretty flowers!!

Winter can easily be a beautiful and unpleasant season all at once. It brings coldness that chills our bones, and darkness that shortens our days and binds our productivity, and for some unexplainable reason it pushes us closer together—humans to humans, and humans to their animals.

If you can’t tell we love our critters here at FFTB! We’re either rescuing, adopting, babysitting, cleaning up after them, feeding, washing them off after they’ve rolled and wallowed in the mud, snuggling up with them, making vet trips, having the vet come do farm calls and the list can go on and onnnn..

Recently we lost one of the farm cats to feline diabetes, his health may have had a different outcome but the brutality of this winter was just too much for him.

Cloud was a special cat that loved dogs and food; he was the “king cat” who snuggled with whom he wanted at anytime he wanted. He let the other cats do all the  “hunting” for him, he loved to frolic and hide in the garden, and he enjoyed lying out and sunbathing—he really was one of a kind!

 (squeezing between the pups)




















(snuggling up with his buddy Cosmo)

The reason I’m sharing this with y’all is because it’s saddening and heart wrenching to lose a loveone (yes animals are love ones!) but Cloud lived a peaceful life, gave us many laughs, and filled our hearts with love. The way I see it is we can look at this bitterly cold and harsh winter in two different ways, 1) sad and depressing because it took our Cloud or 2) joyous because the last few months brought Cloud inside where he was closer to us and we shared more memories with him-- I’ll chose choice number two.

We don’t have control over what and when things happen to us any more then we have a say about the color of the sky or why pigs can’t fly. If this winter hasn’t taught you that than I don’t know what will but what we do have control over is how we spend our time here on earth. So I’m asking and telling you PLEASE please please use your time wisely! Hug your mama, kiss your kids, snuggle with you pets and share some love because you just never know. 

Rest in peace Cloud Lasagna Kelly, forever in our hearts 

-Caitlyn

What Makes a White Pine Farm Table So Special?

The White Pine Table Discussed Here

When most people think about a “classic farm table” they usually picture it made with white pine.  White pine was used to build most of the kitchen tables found in farmhouses during the 1800s.

The pine boards you see on our website come from floor and wall boards taken from barns that are often nearly 200 years old.  Traditionally speaking, when it comes to farm tables, white pine is favored by the majority of our customers.

The pine used to build our farm tables is very different from modern pine wood used in furniture.  It offers significant benefits in both beauty and durability.

The wood was already 200+ years old when it was used to build barns back in the late 1700s to 1800s.  It’s known as “old growth” wood in the industry.

Because of their old age, the trunks from which this wood was originally harvested were often large.  As a result, the wood planks created from them can be 16 to 18 inches wide.  (It’s very, very unusual to find planks this wide today).  Modern trees being sliced into planks, as a general rule, just aren’t very big.

This means our table tops often feature very wide planks.  Such a thing is rarely seen in modern tables.

Another aspect of old-growth pine is that it can get a little darker in some areas, resulting in lots of variations of color.  You can understand why this is the case by imagining all the rain, sun, crops and animals that passed through the life of a centuries-old barn.

Sometimes we get to handle certain pieces of wood and can see where a tractor has left marks, with its metal studs, on some floor boards. At other times, we clearly see old saw marks, from where a mill saw sliced the original board.  Those markings look so wonderful that we take care not to sand or plane those out, as much as possible anyway.  We always try to leave historical markings like those.

Another interesting feature of our pine farm tables is that their surface is typically harder and more durable than modern ones.  Pine has always been regarded as soft wood, but tree farms today almost always use artificial chemicals, which results in even softer pine.  Those old-growth pine forests, on the other hand, never experienced artificial pesticides or fertilizers; their wood is noticeably harder. 

We treat old barn wood pine boards as “diamonds-in-the-rough.”  Our guys puts them through the planer, sand them a bit, and when the dirt and dust come off, the wood just comes to life.  Its natural color and beauty is immediately evident as soon as we begin cleaning the boards.

These are the kinds of unique benefits our customers treasure in our farmhouse tables.

Another View of the White Pine Farm Table

We recently finished a very long table -- this biggest one we’ve ever done -- for a family living in Bucks County.  They live inside a historic house built during the 1800s. 

Most of our tables have removable legs so they can ship more easily.  But our customer in Bucks County specifically requested the legs not be removable.  The husband really wanted his table to be completely built the old-fashioned way.

The table we custom-crafted for this family was a Federal style farmhouse table with tapered legs.  As soon as we got it from the delivery truck into its new residence, the table looked as if it was always meant to be a part of that beautiful home.

As things turned out, this husband and wife wanted their entire family, including grown children, to be present for our delivery.   They knew we’re a small family business and invited us to join them for their first home-cooked meal on this brand new (yet very old-looking) kitchen table.

It was such a memorable dinner! 

That family is the sort of company we often get to keep by doing what we do.  They’re now having us build other pieces of furniture for them too.  But sharing that first meal with them, on their new farm table, is an evening we’ll never forget.

Please visit the following pages for even more information:

Furniture Gallery Page: http://www.furniturefromthebarn.com/reclaimed-barnwood-furniture-gallery.php
 
Farmhouse Tables Page: http://www.furniturefromthebarn.com/reclaimed-farmhouse-tables.php

Customer Showcase Page: http://furniturefromthebarn.com/customer-showcase.php

Have any questions?  Contact us anytime: http://furniturefromthebarn.com/contact-us.php

Why We Use Tung Oil to Finish Our Farmhouse Tables

White Pine Table with Tung Oil Finish

One of our customers’ frequently asked questions is, “What product is used to finish the wood on a farmhouse table?”  I love it when they ask.

Our secret is Tung Oil.

Tung oil, also known as China wood oil, is a drying oil that’s been used for thousands of years.  (It was actually used to waterproof wooden ships at one time.)  It’s made by extracting the oil from the seeds of nuts from Tung trees.

Tung oil has a resin in it that does 2 things:  1) It creates an incredibly rich-looking patina that enhances barn woods’ natural beauty.  2) When properly applied, it offers wonderful protection to tables (or other pieces of furniture).

We use the most premium brand available.  It took us many months to find the supplier we use.  (Our source is safeguarded for proprietary reasons, of course.  If you become a customer, however, and ever want to re-oil your table at some point, then we’ll share our supplier with you  :-)

The particular brand of Tung oil we use gives every one of our customers the following benefits:

• It penetrates deep into the pores of the barn wood to bring out its beauty in a very natural way.  This gives our tables (and other pieces of furniture) a genuine "old world" look to them. 
• It’s incredibly water resistant.  It sinks deep down into the wood and becomes part of it.  Your table then becomes very resistant to moisture, dirt, common household chemicals, alcohol and variations in temperature.  Imagine leaving a wet glass on a varnish-finished table for 5 or 6 hours.  A cloudy mark would build up underneath its finish. This doesn’t happen with Tung oil.  The oil doesn’t create a plastic-like coating on top of the wood … it’s a part of the wood itself.
• You can always bring back your table to its original finish.  We’ve had families with young children buy our tables and then desire to re-oil them after those few years of very hard use.  No problem.  With our instructions, your table can always be brought back to its original finish.

Yellow Pine Table with Tung Oil Applied

When finishing tables, we typically apply up to 5 or 6 coats of Tung oil.  We also hand-sand the finish between each coat too.  It’s a process because each application of the oil takes about 24 hours to dry.  The results are well worth it though.

This is why the particular brand of Tung oil we use is special.  I’ve spoken to a lot of “do-it-yourselfers” who buy low-grade Tung oil and put it on their tables … only to discover that it takes a very, very long time to dry.  The whole project becomes very frustrating.

The brand we use isn’t cheap.  It runs about a hundred dollars a gallon.  But it’s worth it.  Our customers love the look and protection that results on their tables.  And that is very satisfying to us here at FurnitureFromTheBarn.

Please visit the following pages for even more information:

Furniture Gallery Page: http://www.furniturefromthebarn.com/reclaimed-barnwood-furniture-gallery.php

Farmhouse Tables Page: http://www.furniturefromthebarn.com/reclaimed-farmhouse-tables.php

Customer Showcase Page: http://furniturefromthebarn.com/customer-showcase.php

Have any questions?  Contact us anytime: http://furniturefromthebarn.com/contact-us.php

Why Buy Re-purposed Wood Furniture

Why buy re-purposed wood furniture? I’ll tell you why, because it’s cool! Not only is it cool but it’s smart, it serves a purpose, and it’s worth the money, it’s a new life, a regenerated form of something that is too valuable to toss to the wayside. It’s wood, real wood but just rejuvenated!

Everything has a beginning, everything needs some kind of start, a structure to build off of, and everything has a purpose. Reclaimed barn wood began with the purpose of sheltering animals and storing harvested crops. Over time those needs have dwindled down because the family farm isn’t as prominent as it used to be so repairing the old barn out back has become a thing of the past. As these big, beautiful structures are being taken down the wood is either discarded or reused, we choose to reuse. All things must end but an end can be a new beginning, and by reclaiming old barn wood and making furniture out of this re-purposed wood that’s exactly what we’re doing. 

 

Another reason to buy reclaimed wood furniture is because it will last you longer, now I know what you’re thinking..                                

       "how will something that is already old last me longer than something that is brand-new??” 

Well the answer to this tricky question is the fact that the wood of yesteryear is stronger and more durable than the wood of today. This is because the wood of today is commercially grown and the trees aren’t fully mature when harvested, whereas the wood of yesteryear was naturally grown and harvested only when the tree was well into its mature life. The difference is classified as 'old growth' versus 'new growth'. Therefore making that brand-new Ikea cabinet less sturdier than a cabinet made out sturdy reclaimed wood.

Another factor is the character--the nicks, the nail holes, the saw marks and grooves, the color.. Oh the color! These things are things that can’t be replicated no matter how intentionally planned into the building of the new wood product they are. No two pieces of reclaimed wood are alike, that makes for no two pieces of furniture made out of reclaimed wood ever being exactly alike..ever! Each piece has its own story, artistic touch, and unique beauty.

Now the reasons of why to buy reclaimed wood furniture instead of new wood furniture are endless—the list could go on about the finishing processes, how you would be helping the environment, and even how a once treasured barn can be made into heirloom pieces of furniture for your home. 

But we're challenging you to build, buy, reuse, and re-purpose old wood, old furniture, new furniture made out of old wood.. you get the gist! But when you're in the market for something new for your hearth & home take a look at reclaimed wood furniture because a valuable earthly resource such as wood doesn't have to have an end but can begin again.