Imagine losing your house and contents to a fire. Just devastating. But discovering that your shed survived and with it the red gum slabs you’d collected from fallen trees on your property years before. Suddenly there’s something positive. An opportunity. This happened to my clients and this very special table will forever connect them to their past.
Just about everyone in Australia knows someone impacted by bushfire. The havoc they can wreak is real. So, when you come across a story with a positive element attached, it’s one well worth sharing.
The 2019-2020 bush fire season was massive. A combination of hot weather and drought, combined with high winds saw large portions of the east coast on fire. Corryong NSW wasn’t spared the carnage.
I first met my clients, local dairy farmers, a few years after a bushfire that destroyed their home. They lost a lot, but not everything. A few years earlier they had milled red gum slabs from fallen trees around their property. They stored them in their shed, in just the right way throughout the drying process.
Trust me, this is an art in itself. Somehow, the shed had been spared the fire. The wood was perfectly intact. After a few calls, they headed my way with a ute full of red gum ready to turn into a custom ‘X’ table with live edge.
Then the process was over to me. I started with milling all the pieces into usable stock – cutting, sanding, filling. And then I got to build. What a joy that was. I created a live edge table two metres long with a traditional farmhouse style ‘X’ based frame. It remains one of my favourite builds and was clearly a success. They recently rocked up with more timber to make a second one for their in-laws.
Not only are these tables beautiful, but they give an important nod to the past. A reminder of survival, and a space to create new memories.
Keen to see some of my other bespoke dining table? See here