Wood & Finishes

Wood & Wood Finishes

Our primary finish is made locally by Land Ark North West. A Oregon business making premium penetrating oil finishes. Hand-crafted in small batches with the highest quality, all natural ingredients coming from sustainable resources. All of their products are made without the use of chemical processing, toxic heavy metal dryers, or petroleum. We love to use their concentrated finishing oil because it completes our sustainable furniture. Our top coat is a liquid wax end grain sealer for added sheen and protection. Their products are all-natural, biodegradable, non-ozone depleting, and are being extensively used in green building practice. Safe for the environment, for the people applying it, and especially those living with it in their homes.

Against the Grain furniture is made possible by using reclaimed barnwood from historical structures salvaged in Oregon. We locally collect and invest in recycled Douglas-Fir found in our area to preserve this valuable resource. The Doug-fir is world renown among the Giants of the Pacific Coast. Like the California Redwood, in the perfect conditions to grow it is possible for this tree species to live through an entire millenia. We search for old growth wood from trees that were probably 300-400 years old when they were felled at the turn of the 20th century. It typically comes in simple but beautiful clear vertical grain (known as CVG), but the beautiful thing is that every piece is truly unique. You never know what you’re going to find, or in our business, ‘uncover’. But that’s half the fun.

Only upon special request will we integrate other types of Northwest woods into our custom designs : Black Walnut, Maple, Cherry, White Oak, Redwood, Juniper, Western Red Cedar, Ponderosa Pine, and Sitka Spruce. We have used them in various combinations that compliment the unique quality of each type. We like to respect each piece for its own identity as much as possible by playing with grain patterns, knots, burls, and live edges. We are passionate about applying reclaimed barnwood into our furniture designs because we are able to share its history through saw marks, nail holes, rustic patina, and even peeling layers of paint. There is something truly ’original’ about appreciating something just as it is. Often times the legs for our tables come out rough-sawn stock in true dimensions greater than 4”x4”. We leave the CVG and old growth wood for our table tops. Especially since the aged wood has weathered itself into a gorgeous honey-amber, and we love to show it off!

We like to use an organic home-made and hand-rubbed finish on some pieces, depending on your needs, and how the piece is going to be used. Otherwise, and often times, we will use a durable and environmental permanent finish on our furniture. The home-made finish is mainly compromised of Organic Flax Oil and Oregon Bees Wax. The ingredients are a mixture of organic flax oil, bees wax, organic white vinegar, vodka, distilled water, organic fir essential oil, and organic lemon essential oil.

sample: oil & wax glossy finish

This finish has a warm amber glow and a soft feel. It is recommended to be reapplied and polished annually, if not more often. Truly an awesome recipe that we have experimented in perfecting. The vinegar helps to clean the wood, the vodka helps the oil absorb into the wood, the flax oil cures and protects the wood, and the bees wax seals it all in. The fir-oil is designed as an aromatic to linger after the vinegar evaporates, and the lemon oil acts as an anti-oxidant and preservative for the flax oil.