Questions to Ask Before Purchasing a Barn Wood Table

2016-01-19 05:30:58 3 view(s)

Questions to Ask Before Purchasing a Barn Wood Table

“Imagination and great execution creates the finest barn wood tables in the industry.” 

  All of our barn wood furniture comes from 100 + year old barns from Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana.  They are all American Made! Working with aged retrieved barn wood takes special techniques designed to allow it to maintain its antique character yet preserves it for generations to come.  Keep in mind that a “Barn wood” Table is made from authentic barn wood not miscellaneous reclaimed wood from inner city buildings or pallets. Our barnwood tables and other furniture are the same barns built over 100 years ago that gave shelter to animals or tools for the thousands of hard working farmers that helped build our great nation.  Barnwood’s character reflects the character of the men, women and children that worked these farms.  Reclaimed wood coming from inner city buildings and pallets are noteworthy, but lack the story, character and warm rustic charm of barnwood naturally weathered by Midwestern seasonal vicissitudes. “Here are some questions to ask before purchasing a barn wood table.”                                                                               Can the table be made to our custom size? At Woodland Creek your barnwood table can be made to your specifications.  Length of most rectangular barn wood tables can be up to 120” and more.  We one made a barnwood table to be used as a conference table that was 24’ long.  That’s 288 inches. Width can vary between 38” and 48” with wider widths available on certain models.  Standard height is 30”-31“, but higher tables can easily be made for all our barnwood table designs.  Custom barnwood dining tables are our specialty. How is the barnwood tabletop made?  Woodland Creek’s barn wood table tops have a super structure underneath that allows the top to float in its tongue and groove. This allows our tops to expand and contract with humidity.  Many other barn wood table tops are glued together.  This does make a solid top. But Mother Nature and/or your home’s humidity levels can play games with a glued barnwood top.  Humidity will cause the wood to swell.  Swelling is not usually the problem.  The problems begin when the humidity drops in the dead of winter. The wood shrinks…if it is glued together, something must give.  A glued top could crack.  The dryer the air the more cracks appear.  Woodland Creek’s barn wood tables have an engineered tongue & groove top and will not crack.  They are made to last many lifetimes.  In fact, Woodland Creek has sold several thousand barnwood tables over the past ten years, and we have not had a table top cracking issue since we implemented the tongue & groove style tops.  Beauty & function – the best of both worlds!   Woodland Creek will soon be offering a live edge reclaimed barnwood top.  We have found barns that used natural white oak logs in their structure.  These logs with the natural edge are being cut into planks.  We do plan to glue these tops and offer them on all the barnwood bases shown on our web site.  We anticipate only minor checking and hairline cracks. These will only add character to the tops copious character.  We plan to be very upfront with our customers about the possibility of minor cracks.  We will only offer these to our customers that appreciate the potential for additional rustic charm – or stated another way – customer that like a very rustic table and are not afraid of additional cracks.  Photos of these gorgeous live edge barn wood table tops coming soon!

What kind of wood are the barnwood tables made of? 

Most of the barn wood is red, white or yellow pine with some oak and silver maple. Many of the barns were built with whatever wood was readily available.  The woodlots close to the barn were used in construction.   One wood that we never use in our barn tables or furniture is Douglas fir.  Douglas fir is very difficult to sand.  The more you sand it the rougher it becomes.  It remains rough with lots of splinters.  We value our customers, and we do not want you to get splinters (we cannot guarantee you will ever get one, but we try darn hard to provide a splinter free barnwood dining table).  Our barn wood dining tables are built to provide the perfect ambiance for good memories with friends and family while sharing a meal (they also double as an excellent place to host family games).

“Our barn wood tables are considered heirloom quality furniture.”                                                                                

  Hand Crafted techniques?  Woodland Creek’s tables are all made by hand.  Yes, it takes a little bit longer to build a table by hand, but the extra time creates a table that will be solid as a rock in the year 2215.  Our craftsmen even us special superlative fasteners that will never loosen.  This little detail is just one small detail that sets the quality of our barnwood dining tables apart.  There are dozens of little details that make up a quality piece of furniture.  It took 15 years to learn what makes the best quality barnwood furniture.  Barnwood furniture has become popular and main stream.  You can find many small woodworkers offering them, but they simply do not have the experience to expertise to offer our level of quality.  That is why we are contacted so often by people to ask how to repair one they bought somewhere else that is having problems.  Also most of our barnwood tables can be made expandable for more versatility.   How are the tables finished?  Woodland Creek’s tabletops are finished with a five step sanding process that bring out the natural century old character.  It has taken over a decade of trial and error to create our final beautiful finish. The table is then simple coated with old time lacquer that brings out all the deep variegated honey colors of the wood.  This deep patina color is produced by over 100 years of outdoor aging. I wish I could share more with you about our finish process, but why help the competition who are just now figuring out that barnwood furniture is popular. Let’s let them spend the next ten years of trial and error figuring out how to properly finish a barnwood table.  Just rest assured we are already there and our finishes are the best in the barnwood industry.   Some customers prefer color to be added to match various décor.  We offer 12 colors from dark to light that can be applied:  Ebony to Dove Gray.   Special colors can be created to match any variation or home decor. Do the different designs of your barn wood furniture match?  All the barn wood product lines will mix and match with each other.  Our barn wood furniture designs has a distinct “sophisticated rustic” charm.  The design, the scale, the attention to detail, the finish all combine to form an elegant rustic charm.  You can close your eyes and touch the barn wood tables…you will feel the difference. Our barn wood is soft and warm. I invites you touch. It demands to be touched. To this day I cannot stop near a piece of barnwood furniture and not run my hands over it.

“The “Antiques Roadshow” of 2215 will feature our barn wood furniture.”

  Why are your prices higher, compared to the big furniture chains? Our barnwood tables are hand made to your specifications. One at a time.  Furniture chain stores can only make standard size tables at a mass produced level. I’ve never seen a real barn wood table product from them.  Our barn wood price points are the lowest in the industry…check prices on comparable tables (also take into consideration design & quality when comparing).    Many barnwood tables sell for 7-9 thousand dollars. Not ours – just fair Midwestern pricing – we are looking for you to be a customer for life.  We want you to think of us when you’re ready to update the rest of your home.  Woodland Creek Furniture offers barnwood kitchen cabinets, vanities, sofa tables, coffee tables, side tables, console tables, sideboards, bedroom furniture, and just about anything else that can be built out of wood. Do you deliver?  Our warehouse is in Kalkaska, MI.  Yes, we deliver all across the United States and most of Canada. We have shipped to Alaska, Hawaii, Australia, Western Europe, and even Dubai! Due to the volume that we ship we have some of the lowest shipping rates in the country. We offer two services.  Common Carrier or White Glove.  Contact our company for more details.

“Our barn wood furniture will be passed down for generations.”

Take a drive to Woodland Creek in Kalkaska or Traverse City and see what dedicated woodcraft has to offer.  Our barn wood is 100 years old before we start and will remain steadfast for centuries in the future. Stop buy and design the dining table of your future. I promise you will see a showroom unlike any other.  Our flagship Traverse City store is a combined 28,000 square feet.   We have clients fly and ride in from around the country all the time.  We have never had one disappointed.  If you have the time, we would love to take you a short twenty minute drive and see our workshop and meet the men and women that work for Woodland Creek.  You will see beautiful exotic woods from all over the world.  While there our original roadside store in next to the workshop.  You will meet the matriarch of Woodland Creek – Patricia Evina.  At 73 she loves meeting new people and talking about our unique products.  Be prepared for a little “mom” bragging about her sons.  All three of us are involved in Woodland Creek – two are furniture builders – so mom can go on from time to time. Let’s chalk that up to the charm of Woodland Creek.  We look forward to meeting and serving your family.   Thank you for taking the time to read this article. Rob Evina Woodland Creek CEO
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