KATE CUNNINGHAM

Reclaimed Wood Furniture



Posted: Thursday, September 10, 2009

by KATE CUNNINGHAM

As a reverential nod to the enduring power of trees, what could be better than to re-claim antique wood beams and boards and allow them to continue to share their beauty as furniture? Having spanned one or two centuries already, the wood radiates not only fortitude and grace, but a quiet authority that offers a valuable lesson in the generosity and power of Mother Nature. In a throw-away society, there is a mind-boggling awe inspired by the sheer longevity of these beams and boards.

This reclaimed wood is the product of dismantled barns, homes and industrial buildings, one to two hundred years old. Rather than suffer a tragic death in a landfill or by fire, there is no limit to the abundant ways these timbers can be reborn as unique and stunning furniture. The barn beams, which are most often oak, hickory, douglas fir or pine, each have their own characteristics, none better than the other. They are all dressed in a rustic, aged patina with either a natural sawn or hand-hewn texture. Even in an entire lot of timbers reclaimed from a building constructed hundreds of years ago, each individual beam is unique, which only adds to their character and value.

Borrowing from our ancestors, where simplicity was the prevailing sensibility, these beams are used whole, just as dismantled. They can measure between 4" to 15" as square or rectangular shapes of varying lengths. Using three or more doweled together horizontally, with vertical support bases, they are coffee tables, dining tables or consoles. In the larger diameters, they are equally commanding as stand-alone, vertical square or rectangular end tables. The possibilities abound to arrange and fabricate the timbers in any combined configuration the designer's imagination can dream up. The beams can be used exactly as found, with their own time-worn, rustic patina, or they can be re-sawn, offering a smoother surface. In either case, they can be oiled, waxed or finished with eco-friendly products, in any way deemed proper.

Reclaimed wood beam furniture summons history to life before our eyes. How can one look upon one of these tables without envisioning the courageous pioneers who felled the trees and fashioned the beams that made it. In the presence of a reclaimed wood beam table, our American ancestors once again stand before us, gently pointing to a way of life so closely attuned to Nature's simplicity, honesty, beauty and balance. Please visit our website: http://www.katecunninghamcompany.com

2009 Kate Cunningham

All Rights Reserved

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