Reclaimed Pine Bench

I created this piece for some friends of mine. The lady of the house had all ways wanted a bench so when I lucked across this beautifully old growth pine they where happy to take some off my hands. I've counted over 170 rings on this bench top alone. She wanted a very simple design clean, well defined lines that let the old character shine through. I milled the legs to make them thicker to help ground the piece. I placed them on a gentle angle to keep the piece from looking to upright and tall. By doing so I was able to avoid using a stretcher to keep the piece from racking. The top of the bench was meticulously hand sanded to show off old milling techniques and to keep as much of the original patina as possible. Sometimes simple designs are the hardest to create. With so few pieces every part has to be painstakingly produced to keep the eye drawn to the piece as a whole. The same can be said for the finish, which is a 5 coat process of wax to give the bench a older feel but not cloud the patina. By doing so the browns and subtle reds were able to rise to the top to give it an over all untouched look.