Welcome > Furniture > About the Furniture

About the Furniture

Once the pioneers had established land claims their thoughts turned to building homes for their families and barns for their livestock. This generally meant Douglas Fir from the immense British Columbia forests. Huge trees were felled and milled to supply the growing demand on the prairies. The quality of this wood is still admired for itís strength and durability and homes built from this lumber still stand true today. I discovered the quality of this wood quite by accident and was immediately struck by the beauty of the grain.

While reading a recent issue of Readers Digest I came upon an article that confirmed my reason for building from this wood. Chris Godsall, CEO of Triton Logging in B.C., said:

"Today's second-growth trees are cut down at a relatively young age, while they consist primarily of juvenile wood with widely spaced growth rings. The old-growth species lived much longer and laid down more mature wood, with three to four more times as many growth rings per inch. The result is a finely grained, scratch resistant, visually stunning and generally denser wood than anything else on the market. Furniture and musical instruments made from this wood have the same fine grain and texture as those made 100 years ago, because they're from the same growth forest."

I have been fortunate to obtain permission from a number of friends to salvage much of the lumber from these turn-of-the-century homes destined to be burned down or demolished. I believe this wood to be as hard as many hardwoods with a grain quality that will leave you breathless.

The furniture I build is built without plans, coming totally from my imagination, much the same as an artist painting a picture. The result is truly a guaranteed, (I hate this term) one-of-a-kind piece of furniture. Because my furniture is built from salvaged wood, there will be any number of nail holes and marks on the wood that will not compromise the structural integrity of the piece. I strive to retain as much of the ageing process that the wood has undergone as possible. After completion, the piece is stained and finished with two coats of tung oil. All other woods used were salvaged from the same sources and wherever possible, hardware used is actual period.

In the case of painted furniture, all finishes are used as salvaged and are not repainted. The alligator effect on the paint is due to years of varying temperatures in the now unheated homes and create their own antique beauty. Whatever your style, I believe my furniture will fit with any decor, beautiful to look at and built to last.

Garden benches and tables are also available.

Pure Prairie Western Giftware and Coffee Garden