Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Floating Mantle





This floating mantle started out as a pine barn beam, which held many years of hay, straw and tack on its shoulders. When we saw the existing pegs, we knew that this not only was our piece, but that we had to showcase them. We carefully centered them and balance them out with period specific carriage bolts, which double as Christmas stocking holders. The natural beauty of the wood was preserved with a water based finish. For me, the joy of working with very old reclaimed wood, partly, comes in the finishing. You never really know what the wood is going to do until you splash that first drop of finish on raw wood. As for this piece, it started out dark chestnut and burst into a light golden brown, telling a story all the way.   




Thursday, March 8, 2012

After all these years



Check out these photos of the table and bench we recently sold to an awesome couple living on The Hill, which is the "Little Italy" section of St. Louis. The table top is an old barn door, still containing the original square cut nails. We finished the table with a water and oil blended polyurethane, which we have found to accentuate the natural characteristics of the wood. The legs are barn braces, with the dowel punched tenons facing down. One side of the table was completed with a bench, running the full length of the table. The top is a 1x12 siding plank. The rough cut saw marks are still present, after all these years.  





Wednesday, February 22, 2012

DL Brand

Heating up and making our new branding iron work it's magic!



Bucket of Bolts

We thought this was pretty amazing. A bucket of old carriage bolts, stuffed away in a shed. This brings even more history to the rare pieces we make.


DL Branding Iron

Dante and I are so excited about our new branding iron! Chris Pfountz is the master metalworker behind this awesome work of art. Dante applies his own distinct style to the barn wood tables and now our initials, discretely branded into our pieces, distinguishes us from all others.

Friday, February 17, 2012

The Artisan at work

Dante Prestipino, the artisan of these amazing pieces of furniture, at work. Dante believes in using rustic hardware, square cut nails and hand brushing the finish. Dante's simplistic approach to furniture building, truly, allows the wood to speak for itself.