Oct 29

Oct 29 Description of Authenticity

It is a great day at Birdmouse when we get the call to come and check out someone's ancient house that is about to be torn down. "See anything in here that would be useful to you?"

Yes. Yes, we do.

We see panelled wood doors, wide, well worn floor boards. We see mantles, foot wide baseboards, stair treads - and we want it! Because we also see harvest tables, coffee tables, shelving, night stands, artwork!

In this particular house, all of the upstairs bedrooms had light fixtures - except the south facing master bedroom. There was a little window on an interior wall, however, that would let light in from the landing's fixture. It is hard not to think, in a room this old, how many tender words were spoken, or arguments contained, prayers whispered.

There is never enough time, energy, or space to collect all of the beautifully aged wood that we would like to reinvent. It is true, this house is not what it once was - under the weight of itself, the wind, the snow, and that ever persistent vagrant, water, working its way in. But we are grateful the owners saw the abundance of salvageable material within. We wish we could take more, alas we are only two and our workshop storage space only one.

"New" Coffee Table using reclaimed floor boards.

Thank you to our customers who appreciate this wood's story - with all of its little imperfections and character. We get to transform that old house into something useful and beautiful again. Every piece of furniture we design now comes with a "Description of Authenticity". This document outlines your piece's history, the conditions under which it was made, and any additional inspirations that went into the design.

As Lenny put it, "We are connecting people's stories." From the various residents of a 125+ year old house in Eastern Prince Edward Island to a home in Moncton, New Brunswick, as a coffee table that will be treasured for many more years to come. And then? Who knows what is next!