Mid Winter Sauna Sale!

All Western Red Cedar Barrel Saunas on SALE! Here in New England it has been very cold and I know much of the country has been feeling it as well. How about an escape pod for your yard, a place where you can melt away the stress of the day and hide from the winter weather? A beautiful sauna is the perfect, at home getaway! Our rustic barrel saunas come in several sizes, with or without a canopy overhang on the front. Visit our website for more details. Get an additional 10% off on all Cedar saunas, this week only! Email Mark@RusticFurnitureGallery.com for your personal discount code. Offer is good until 2/4/14.

Saunas come as a kit with high quality Red Cedar and stainless steel hardware. Electric heaters come with a rock tray for steam and require a 220 line.

Carved Antler Eagle

Just in, look at this beautiful, hand carved Eagle! It is carefully carved into a naturally shed Moose antler from New England. Overall dimensions are 32" tall by 23" wide and it has a chain for easy hanging. 

Crafted by Vermont artist, Mark Fontaine.

Call or email for details: 603-563-7010    

Mark@RustiFurnitureGallery.com

Furnishing Ski Homes!

Wilderness Creations, LLC. has been helping to furnish ski homes for over ten years! The rustic and Adirondack styles fit perfectly into the active, outdoor lifestyle of ski town retreats. Whether it is your full time home, a weekend get away, or an investment rental home, we can help make it a beautiful, unique space that can be enjoyed to the fullest. Check out some of our offerings, from lighting and rustic accessories to furniture for every room (and outdoors). Need help deciding, no problem, we can help with your decorating challenges as well. Visit us online to learn more: www.RusticFurnitureGallery.com   or call us at 603-563-7010
We look forward to working with you and making your ski home the finest in town!

Working with Weathered Barn Wood.

    One of the added challenges of working with old, weathered wood, compared to new lumber, is what to do with the areas that you have cut. Sometimes you can work your design to fit the size of the boards   (assuming you have that design freedom) but you will always need to make some cuts of the barn wood. There are multiple ways you can approach this challenge and on some projects you may use several of these methods.
    The border on the the piece above uses 45 degree cuts which leaves all of the outside, visible edge being the weathered wood. If you had a solid barn wood top then you could use this method and cover the cuts of the inside top boards.
Another way to approach this is to use "bread board ends" which utilizes a thinner piece of your matching wood to cover the cut ends. So, you could make your top with as many boards as you need (depending on the size of the table) and then cut a strip off of another matching aged board to cover your two ends that have the exposed wood. On the drawer above I used some very thin strips (around 1/2") to cover the cut ends. Thoroughly glue and nail the ends on for a secure attachment. It makes for a very nice, finished look.
    There also will be times, when working with barn wood, that you may need to cover a spot with some stain to match. You want to minimize this if possible because it just doesn't work as well and feels a bit less authentic. But, if you need to cover some ends, take your time in matching the color and feel of the wood. Practice on matching wood scraps to get your color and methods as close as possible. You don't want to put stain on too thick, I find that lightly rubbing the stain in with a cloth works nicely.
    Other hints for working with barn wood furniture:
    If you just want to bring down some sharp edges on corners or tops, you can use a small hammer and dent them in. I like this method since the wood is already distressed and that is the look you are going for anyway. Just tap it until you have softened the edge to the desired point, this way it keeps it's matching weathered look and you do not need to worry about it standing out from sanding through the aged layers.
    Be careful to remove the worst of the splinter areas. You don't want anyone picking up a splinter or catching clothes on the wood, etc… Go over the whole project and check for spots that may be a problem and then (if you want this look) add a clear finish to the furniture. Think about the look you want and go with the sheen that best fits that, and remember that each coat will add to the sheen. The finish helps to lock in small splinters and loose wood while also making the piece easier to clean. The extra protection will cut down on stains and scrapes that may get through the aged layer of wood.

    I hope these little suggestions help, please feel free to email me with further questions or if any clarifying of topics is needed.  Mark@RusticFurnitureGallery.com
603-563-7010                 Visit us online at:   www.RusticFurnitureGallery.com

Tis' Always the Season for A Sauna!!!

Rustic Red Cedar Barrel Saunas are beautiful, fun, and healthy! Choose from several sizes and styles, from 4 feet long to 8 feet long, with or without a canopy overhang on the front. The entire kit is complete with heater, benches, rocks for steam, thermometer, and everything else you need to begin enjoying your sauna right away. Delivered directly to your home. Exceptional craftsmanship and made in the USA. Visit our website to order or find more information. 603-563-7010

Recent Project.

This rustic table/bench was recently completed and delivered in New Hampshire. It is similar to another table I did except you'll notice that the bracing is different. This has some angle bracing where as the other table had a center log, running the length, that was tenoned into the end braces. It is a wide Pine slab top (2.5" thick) with Spruce log legs and braces. This does have the end piece tenoned in between the two end log legs. It is sanded to 220 grit and finished with 3 coats of Vermont Natural Coatings on the base and 11 coats of Heirloom Wipe on Finish on the top. This gives it a beautiful look and lots of protection. The overall size is 4' long by 22 1/2" wide and 18" tall. The log leg diameters are roughly 5" to 5.5" wide. This was made to go at the end of a bed and it matched a Pine slab headboard that was mounted directly to the wall.