The Beauty of Reclaimed Wood

One definition of reclaim is to bring value or life back to something.  By using wood that is dead and destined for mulch or firewood, Alpine Blue Home, is reclaiming wood.  We will never buy wood from a mill that cuts down live trees, and we will never import wood from another state or country.  We use only Colorado reclaimed wood.

Wood is inherently beautiful.  Grain, knots, live edges, and holes are nature’s art.  Often wood that comes from trees that are dead, has an abundance of these characteristics. We try to let the wood speak and be the star of the all of the pieces that we make.  Our furniture will always retain its natural beauty. 

We celebrate live edges, knots, or other natural features. We do try and keep as much of the natural art by using a clear poly, oil or lacquer that will enhance the beauty of the piece.

In addition, when you choose to buy from an artisan that uses local, reclaimed materials, you are increasing the beauty of your local environment.  Whether the wood came from dead trees in the forest, or an urban environment; removing these trees in a thoughtful manner, increases the beauty and health of that environment.

When you bring natural, beautiful items into your home, you feel more in tune with nature.  Studies have shown that living with natural products decreases stress, and increases peacefulness and happiness. 

We invite you to come visit our showroom and see reclaimed natural beauty in our furniture and accessories.  Colorado Wood.  Colorado Made.  Colorado Style.

How to Pick the Right Size Dining Table

We get a lot of people that ask about what size dining table they need.  Sometimes this is based on the size or shape of their room.  Other times it has to do with family size, or entertaining needs. 

We’ve listed some guidelines below for choosing table size. 

-       Allow approximately 18 – 24”, per person, for seating.  If using bench seating, this can be tighter.   This is going to vary based on table shape and whether the legs or base restrict seating.  So… to seat 10 people at a rectangular table, an eight-foot table will seat four people on each side, and one at each end. 

-       A width of 24 – 30” can accommodate two people sitting across from each other, but generally won’t allow for serving dishes.  To allow for place settings and serving pieces, plan on 35-38” width.

-       You should allow for 36 – 48” around the table.  This way people can move and pull out chairs with ease.

-       If you want to maximize seating at a table, look for slender legs, or a pedestal or trestle base.  With these types of legs/bases, nobody gets stuck straddling a table leg.


Those are some technical guidelines to assist you in purchasing a table.  Now we are going to get into the emotional and practical aspects.  Depending on your lifestyle, a table that can seat 10 or 12 people, that only gets used once or twice a year, may not be practical.  Especially, if it doesn’t fit your home or budget.  As long as a table is sturdy, clean and, most importantly, welcoming your guests will be happy to join you.  We feel that it’s more important that you have a table that you love and use on a day-to-day basis.  Our everyday life should be comfortable and enjoyable. 

The Power of Purchasing Custom Furniture

We often hear people talk about reasons that they think they will never own a piece of custom furniture.  We’ve decided to discuss some of these reasons and why a piece of custom furniture may be in your future.

We should first discuss why you should even consider having furniture custom made for your home.  Every house, no matter how well designed, has quirks. Those strange shaped rooms or nooks that can be difficult to furnish.  When you add in the fact that we all have different lifestyles, it can be very difficult to find the right furniture to fit. 

The wrong furniture for your space can feel like a pair of ill-fitting shoes, leaving you tired and cranky.  Soon you start avoiding the shoes, or the furniture and they don’t get used.

Often times, people think they can’t afford custom furniture.  Or, the process may intimidate them.  If you connect up with the right custom furniture store, or maker, the process should be fun and simple.  It can also end up costing much less than an off the floor piece.  When you factor in that you have the correct piece for your home, and won’t spend money replacing it or buying other pieces to try to make it work, it ends up costing much less.

So, how do you find the right store or artisan?  There are several important things to consider.  First, and most important, you must be able to communicate and get along with the person that will be handling the design and build of your custom piece.   Communication is key.  They need to be listening and coming up with what you want, not what they want. This is very much like dating; if you don’t like them on the first date, it’s not going to get better.  And for heaven’s sake, don’t marry them.

Secondly, you must like the style of their products.  Visit the showroom and look at style and quality.  If it’s not want you want, then try somewhere else.  Lastly, make sure they are working within your budget.  If you force your budget or theirs, you may not be happy with the outcome.

So, instead of thinking that you will never have just the right piece of custom furniture, tell yourself you can.  You can design it.  You can afford it.  Better yet, aren’t you worth it?

Why buy local custom wood furniture?

What are the benefits to buying local Colorado furniture?

As a consumer, you have many choices of where to shop.  On a daily basis, you see and hear advertising for large, national chain stores.  On the surface, these stores seem to have the biggest, best selection and great prices.  Challenge yourself to dig deeper, and discover the wonder of small, independent, locally owned stores.  Below are some of the reasons you’ll be glad that you did.

 

1.   You can often get the highest quality and best price for your purchase.  Small, independent businesses don’t worry about generating profit for the corporation or shareholders.  Most small businesses have considerably lower overhead than large chains, and that savings goes directly into product pricing.

2.   Customer service is usually superb at a small shop.  Small business owners are involved in the day to day running of their business and keep a pulse on what their customers want.  They interact with customers and are able to hire employees from the community and spend quality time training them.  They value your business and want to provide you with the best possible experience.  Many small businesses provide their customers with services that big box stores cannot, such as in-home design service, customization, and the ability to take a product home and try it before committing to a purchase.

3.    Many small, independent stores are owned by artisans and makers.  By buying their products you are supporting creative, one of a kind, handmade, and meaningful products in your community. In addition to the products that they make, these stores bring in other wonderful items from other local artisans.

4.   Small businesses, on a whole, support the communities that they are in by also shopping locally, employing local residents, and supporting non-profit organizations.  By keeping money and support local, it strengthens the community.

5.   Locally owned small businesses know their customers and their community.  They are able to bring products in that match the lifestyle of the community, instead of having a corporate buyer decide what every store in the chain will carry.  The result; you end up with better choices and can find what you really want.

 

Before you head out for your next shopping trip, think about the types of stores that you really enjoy shopping in.  For excellent, knowledgeable service, creative, unique products and a strong community, think about shopping local and supporting your neighbors and neighborhood.

 

What type of furniture can be custom made?

The short answer to this question, is almost any type of furniture.  To delve a little deeper, we should probably clarify the different uses of the word “Custom”.

There are many stores that can “customize” a piece of furniture for you.  This will involve you selecting a piece of furniture from the showroom floor, or a catalog, and the store will “customize” the furniture by allowing you to pick fabric, finish or size.  This can be a great help when you can’t find the right furniture for your home.  However, this is probably better referred to as customized, or semi-custom furniture.

A truly custom furniture workshop will take an idea, or need that you have and turn it into reality.  You may start with an idea based on something that you’ve seen before.  Or you may have certain space constraints that require a truly custom piece.  The custom furniture builder will ask you questions about your home, your lifestyle, whether you have children or pets, and your budget. 

Following the fact-finding, they will draw up your project and present it to you along with a material list, time frame, and cost.  You will work together until the project is just right for you.   Most custom furniture makers will require a significant deposit, prior to starting work.  This deposit covers the cost of materials and design time.  When the project is complete, you will have a truly custom piece of furniture, you will love for many years.

Whether you chose custom, or customized furniture, it’s important that you are choosing what you really want.  Make sure to look at other items that the store or artisan has done before.  Do you like their style, quality, and pricing?  Do you feel that they really listened to what you wanted?  Don’t let someone else make a decision that will be in your home.  Having a piece of furniture custom made for you, should be a fun, exciting and enjoyable process. 

 

 

 

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What is the difference between reclaimed barn wood and beetle kill pine wood?

There are differences and similarities between these two types of wood.  To help explain this we should first define each type of wood.

Reclaimed barn wood is usually referring to wood that was previously part of a barn, school or other old building.  When the building is torn down, the boards are kept mainly whole so that it can be re-used.  During this process, the old nails or screws are removed and the wood is cleaned up.  Barn wood is usually made up of elm, chestnut, hickory, and pine.  Normally the wood used to build barns would be whatever was plentiful in the area.  Most barn wood in Colorado is either pine or Douglas fir.

Beetle Kill Pine or Blue Stain Pine is from Lodge pole or Ponderosa Pine trees.  Throughout the Rocky Mountains, the small pine beetle has infected and killed hundreds of thousands of trees.  This small beetle carries the Blue Stain Fungus on its body.  It burrows into the tree, just underneath the bark.  The fungus uses the vascular system of the tree for growth.  The fungus prevents the tree’s system from properly bringing in and utilizing water and nutrients.  When the damage becomes too severe, the tree dies.  When the tree dies, the fungus becomes inert, since it no longer has a live host.  The Blue Stain Fungus is what causes the beautiful blue-grey “staining” or coloring in the wood.

The most significant similarity with these two woods would be the species.  In Colorado, most barn wood will be a type of pine.  Beetle Kill Pine is, clearly, pine.  Another similarity is the use of a wood that would normally be burned or thrown away.  Both woods can be used in a number of creative, beautiful ways throughout your home.

However, there are some significant differences.  Barn wood is very popular right now.  Due to the popularity, it has become more difficult to get and the price has gotten higher.  Beetle Kill Pine is still very plentiful and reasonably priced.  Barn wood can contain harmful chemicals.  Many of the products used to treat wood back when they were built contained lead, arsenic, creosote and other dangerous chemicals.  Beetle Kill Pine comes from the forest to the mill to the builder.  It contains no dangerous chemicals.

Alpine Blue Home has developed a “Barn Wood” finish for use on beetle kill pine.  This finish leaves saw marks and other distress marks in the wood, while maintaining a smooth feel.  We then use a multiple stage process of several different water-based paints, stains and finishes to create a safe “barn wood” piece of furniture to perfectly fit in your home.

Beetle Kill Pine…Great Transitional Design

Beetle kill pine with its beautiful mix of cream, caramel, rust, blue, grey and sometimes black, is a great design element.

Most homes have a myriad of wood elements from cabinets, flooring, doors, and trim work.  When you add in furniture, artwork and other decorative accents you can end up with a huge variety of colors. 

Beetle Kill Pine is a great transitional design element.  With all of its gorgeous colors and both warm and cool tones, it can bring all of the different design elements in your house together. 

Let us show you how to incorporate beetle kill pine into your home.

 

What is Reclaimed Wood

What is reclaimed wood?  There are actually several definitions of reclaimed wood.  The most common is wood that was previously used in another application.  This could be barn wood, old timbers, boats, warehouses, furniture, or even shipping pallets.

 

The term “reclaimed” is often used to refer to wood that came from a tree that died naturally due to disease, fire, flood, or wind.  The more appropriate term for this type of wood would be salvaged.

 

At Alpine Blue Home, we use primarily Salvaged wood.  Our salvaged wood all comes from Colorado.  Most of this is beetle kill pine.  However, we do use elm, maple, cottonwood, or aspen wood that comes from trees that have died naturally or due to disease.  Occasionally we will also use wood that came from trees involved in a forest fire.  You may even see wood from an old piece of furniture, doors, or another source.

 

 

Moving Day

Alpine Blue Home is closing its Evergreen location inside Sundance by Design,  effective September 24, 2016.  We are looking for new store space.  All of our great products are for sale on our website.  Some products are available for Colorado delivery only, due to their size and weight.  Please contact us with any questions.

Watch our website for the announcement about our next store space.  We thank you for your business and hope that you continue to look to Alpine Blue Home for creative, thoughtful beetle kill pine and reclaimed wood furniture and accessories.

Alpine Blue Home is pleased to announce our new line, ABH Studio! ABH studio pieces are one of a kind, art furniture.  Each piece is a spectacular,unique piece of functional art that you will be able to enjoy for years.

Moving Plants

Just introduced at the May Paris Street Market and in time for summer, our new Plant Caddy. Made to work as a planter and transporter of your plants. Those plants sensitive to too much Colorado sun....not problem, just move them to the next shady spot.

This simple rustic planter is a modern take on old tool boxes from 100 years ago. The wood is straight from the Colorado Springs Black Forrest burn area. The mix of blue gray beetle kill with the chocolate brown hues that the fire created in the grain, makes for some very cool one of a kind wood. 

 

Magic In Store

A friend was experiencing a high level of stress and joked that they needed a magic wand.  We decided to create a wand with a little bit a magic.  

As often happens with magic...things evolved.  Out of each batch of wands made; a few of them become "Pay it Forward" wands.  A thoughtful customer will pay for a wand and grant us the privilege of giving it to someone that needs a little magic in their life.  The recipient often contributes to the next wand...to pay it forward.

 

New Products Have Arrived!

Somethings are worth the wait....we think these new product are. We have now have Beam Beetle Kill LED Lights, Tin Hanging Lights, and a massive 10x10x12" beam and stamped tin Light....because who does not just love a chunk of wood. 

In addition to new lights, we expanded the decretive ladder line to include truly unique "Live Edge" Aspen Timber ladders. These are very much one of kind and will make a huge statement where they end up. On of the ladders retains it's burnt bark from the Black Forrest fire outside Colorado Springs. 

The small round end wire base end tales that everyone snatch up from us, we decided to expand that line too. There are two new styles of bases: one style with black metal twigs. The other style is stamped Tin painted red with an impressive 3" thick round of Beetle Kill to top it off. 

Currently all new items are in stock at the Evergreen store. Quick NOTE, we will be at the Aspen Grove Paris Street Market, all summer long, the first Saturday of each month starting May 7th. Continuing on through October. Hope to see you there.  

 

 

One of our craftsman revealed

Alpine Blue Home is pleased to announce that we will be featuring some products made by Kris Williams of Rocky Blue Woodworks in our Evergreen Store.  

 

Kris is an excellent craftsman and builds with pride and integrity.  We are happy to be able to show his work.  

 

Please come by and see all of the beautiful furniture and accessories.  Our store hours are Monday through Saturday from 10 - 5. 

What's New in 2016!

Alpine Blue had a great Holiday Season.  We are excited to start 2016.  We've brought several new products in and rearranged the store.

 

We've added two console tables to our live edge line.  One of the tables has black hairpin legs, which makes it very transitional, fitting in any decor from mid-mod to traditional.  The other console has fun and funky red legs that really set off the beautiful beetle kill pine.

 

The classic line has expanded to include three new benches, a coffee table on casters, a square kitchen table, and a fun casual dining bar.  All of the pieces have gorgeous blue-grey coloring and are finished with a natural clear coat.

 

We will be bringing in a bed that combines Rocky Mountain beetle kill pine with galvanized metal and a simple, clean design headboard.  Both of these beds can be ordered in any size with an approximate three week build time.  

 

We are currently developing a modern zen line that will captivate the eye with its super clean lines and negative space.  In addition, we are working on a line of "illuminated art", and expanding our "found objects" pieces.