One of A Kind Tables

Behind the Scenes

In our last blog post, we dove into the behind the scenes of making a reclaimed barn wood slider. Honestly, we love making custom pieces and, well, we love talking about it too! This time, though, we are going to get down to the nitty gritty of building a custom reclaimed barn wood table.

So, before we get into it, there is one incredibly important thing that must be said. Building a table is one thing. But building a table using reclaimed barn wood is much different. It takes something special to work with reclaimed barn wood. The boards are not perfect and, in many instances, there are still nails embedded in the wood. If you’re outsourcing the build of your table, don’t forget to ask them if they’ve previously built one with reclaimed barn wood.

Now, for the ins and outs of building tables. We can use a variety of different types of wood for tables, depending on the type of table you are looking for. We’ve made tables ranging from end tables to coffee tables to dinner tables. But our all-time favorite table to make is what we call Viking tables. These tables are large, sturdy, dining room tables and, well, it’s hard to find another one like it.

Just so you can get an idea of how big these tables are, it takes 4 people to carry just the top of it. Yup, that’s right. These tops are large and truly one-of-a-kind.

Now, sliders don’t necessarily need to be used as actual sliding doors. We have made them as small as 2ft x 2ft to cover up a dart board and as large as 20ft x 16ft for an actual barn. The custom sliders we made for our own shop are pictured below!

Sliders can be used for your bathroom (using them between the master bed and bath has become increasingly popular), as a room divider, for the pantry or laundry room, and even as an accent hung on a wall. We recently had a customer purchase a custom slider as an accent on the outside of their home (see the pic below).

When we say one-of-a-kind, we really mean one-of-a-kind. Because of the type of wood we are working with (the reclaimed kind, of course), even if we wanted to perfectly replicate a table we’ve made, we wouldn’t be able to. Each piece of barn wood that we use in any of our custom projects are unique in a way you will never find from the big box stores. Even if we use pieces of wood from the exact same barn wall, there are pieces that have been more weathered, some that have gotten a little extra love from the animals living in it.

Just like with the custom sliders, we actively work to keep the character of the wood we are using. That is one of the best parts of working with reclaimed barn wood- the story and the history encapsulated in the wood.

Our process for custom tables (especially the Viking tables), has been modified and changed over the years to ensure the smoothest possible process. And the first step is one of the most important. We start with a one-on-one meeting with the owner, Jim, to discuss preferences, look at photos, and discuss the building process.

Many of the tables we have built also have custom wood legs. However, custom reclaimed barn wood tops paired with iron or industrial legs are becoming much more popular. You’ll definitely find some pictures of those types of tables all over Instagram. This has become popular for end tables, coffee tables, and other accent pieces. We have also gotten custom requests for just the custom top, with the customer planning on attaching iron legs that they’ve found at a vintage store or a flea market.

We love reclaimed barn wood tables. And if you don’t believe us… We have a custom Viking table in our own dining room.

These custom tables are truly unique, so no one will ever have the exact same table in their dining room (always a plus). And these pieces are a conversation starter. Hosting family dinners and parties (at least pre-covid) is always a blast because the Viking table becomes a center piece for the gathering.

Have you been searching for a new dining room table? Or have you already decided that you need to have a custom reclaimed barn wood table in your house? Get in touch! You can email Jim directly here or call at 734-223-0759. We’re looking forward to talking with you!