furniture – PRAIRIE BENCH

Empire Stool, Country Style

by Prairie BenchJune 20, 2014November 29, 20150

This is our version of the classical empire stool with some western flare. We also refer to it as an attendant stool when teamed up with the repose chaise.

This piece is made of reclaimed spruce and finished in our Country Rustic finish using water-based stain and finished in polyurethane for durable shine.

The center seat height is lower than a regular dining chair, only 15″, and makes a great stool in the entry or anywhere you might like to stop for a minute or set down an armful. We have one in the bedroom constantly covered in clothes. This version includes a little cubby built into the frame.

Country Style Empire Stool #21-6-14-BL
Approx: 28″wide x 16″ tall x 18″ deep
Finished in polyurethane

Ready to serve: a customer submitted this beautiful shot of our stool in its new abode. Thank you! — Ready to serve: A patron submitted this beautiful shot of our empire stool design in its new abode. Thank you!

Western Dining Table

by Prairie BenchJune 12, 2014November 29, 20150

This is a western style dining table made from reclaimed untreated spruce planks and finished in our Country rustic and polyurethane for easy care. We used a water-based stain on this piece to ensure food safe use. The poly top coat dries to a durable finish.

The table is 4.5′ x 5′ with four 6″ thick corner posts. The table is 28 7/8″ tall, allowing for a floor protector which makes the table exactly 29″.

The table surface planks are offset slightly to give a real rustic feel and touch. We also used a hand planer to add texture before sanding smooth. The post and beam design allows the table to be taken apart and moved. Also, the posts are inset to allow lots of leg room and easy access. The table surface is two pieces which buckle together in the middle and lock down at the edges. When installed onsite, there are four bolts which hold the beams to the posts. It’s big and heavy and will easily host eight people sitting comfortably around.

#11-6-14-BL designed in spruce and finished in Prairie Bench Country Rustic and polyurethane. 54″x60″x 29″ tall. This custom table is on its way to a new home and we wish the owners lots of happy feasting.

Click the pictures to enlarge.

Hemlock Bistro Bar

by Prairie BenchFebruary 21, 2014February 7, 20201

prairie bench hemlock bistro top 5 — A traditional 36″ counter bar (background right) is dwarfed by the massive Hemlock slab.

It’s big.

The piece:
Local Hemlock slab 3″ thick 60″x 20″ live edge
Local rough cut Fir timbers 4″ thick hand chiseled
Hazelnut dowels on frame
Hemlock dowels to moor slab
42″ tall
Rubber skid pads
Finished in polyurethane for easy polishing and durability

The hemlock slab was our work bench until we flipped it over and saw it had nice grain. So we polished it up with a hand planer and some high grit sand paper, and the result was stunning.

This piece is a fine example of West Coast Hemlock, and very strong. It is a soft wood, an evergreen, so the surface may get nicked and bumped—but that’s part of its story. We even left some of the original mill saw marks, and there is a compression mark from early in the tree’s history. It’s a wain cut so the slab does have a slight twist, compensated by the custom frame. Belly up to the bar, we estimate the load bearing for this unit to be about eight tons, however we only recommend the table for lattes and a few brews.

One side has a nice arc that invites patrons to sit around the server and bartender side has a convenient knot hole for tips. Each post of the fir frame is hand chiseled and joins in a locking pattern on three sides, then pinned with sturdy hazelnut hardwood dowels. Sanded smooth, the blunt dowels and over cut edges give the piece a sturdy wild west look and in the category Country Collection.

For matching chairs, we’ll shop for some nice iron ones to complement the piece.

Size: 42″ tall x 60″ long x 20″ wide
Finished in polyurethane
#270-BL-02-14

prairie bench hemlock bistro build — Frame of the Hemlock Bistro Bar being built on the new work bench, a huge cedar slab. Looking forward making something with that monolith.

Rustic Cedar Rail Bench

by Prairie BenchDecember 13, 2013May 29, 20190

Like the elves, we wanted to squeeze in a couple extra projects before the holiday season. A client found a large slab of fallen cedar near a rail line in the Nelson area. The sample has unique features and a natural bowl shape. We believe the wood may be a remnant from a lightning strike due to the pattern of the burn and its location on the inside core. The wood was aged and weather worn, and full of splinters, however the structure was still good and could be preserved as a bench.

We suggested continuing the rail line motif with an industrial style combined with the wood. We ‘tracked’ down a nice piece of I-beam from the recyclers and then went straight to Steve at Hawk Metalworks in Poco (leave a comment if you want the tel#) where the frame was cut and welded to our exact specifications. For ties we used hemlock 4″x3″ rough cut beams.

The challenge with old cedar is the breakdown of the long grains resulting in slivers and and fractures. We soaked the piece in poly several times, sanding extensively to create a natural finish without gloss to the client’s preference. If cedar does get a sharp edge, sanding just exposes more of the sliver, so for anything too nasty, we cut across the grain in a scoop motion, soak with finish, and sand the divot smooth. The goal was to preserve the natural bowl shape that caught the client’s attention back in the forest.

The rail is left natural and local fabricator, Sawitall.net, helped design the brackets which were torched to look old and we applied a little flat black paint. Four bolts lock the rail to the ties from underneath.

#4BL12-13

height: approx 19″, length 52″, width 18″

Wolf Throne

by Prairie BenchSeptember 11, 2013November 29, 20158

Continuing with the Elk and Wolf Dining Project, the frames for the two thrones are complete. Each uses hazelnut posts with balsam fir supports. The backboard and seat are Sitka Spruce. The dowels are hazelnut and hemlock. No screws or nails are used, just glue and pressure. The posts were measured to fit then hand chiseled to fit the interlocking fir supports. No stain was used, just clear finish and some charcoal was sanded into the joints.

The hazelnut posts are grown onsite and have a muscular, sinew look with a slight purple hue. The spruce backboard is from an old log claimed from the Fraser river by a local tug operator. The arms have carved paws and there a some roughed meadow leaves and branches on the edges and seat. When sitting, the wolf appears to be looking over your shoulder, a bit scary and intimidating for your subjects. That’s the look we wanted!

The seat had a natural band that seems to create a scene with a knot moon in the background. Wood contains it’s own art, but it was fun to add our carving of a wolf. So much fun, we made a spruce shield to indicate when the Wolf King or Queen was in town. If the shield is hanging on the throne, the wolf is around.

Check back to see the Elk throne. It’s almost done.