About Us
Who We Are
The principals have a combined background of over 50 years buying and selling antiques as well as new furniture. They have also made custom furniture and manufactured production runs of furniture and wooden accessories. They have drawn on all of this experience to develop this line of exciting, fun products.
What We Do
Antiques are a green alternative to buying new. We have understood this for decades, before being green was even talked about. We have also developed an appreciation for quality furniture and acces- sories. A piece of furniture that is distinctive, well designed and prop- erly built can stand the test of time and be useful for years to come.
All of our products are made of reclaimed wood from Michigan barns. Many old barns are just weathering away. Groups of concerned peo- ple are carefully disassembling unwanted barns and offering the wood for new uses. We work closely with one of the largest barn re- claimers in Michigan to assure the lumber we use was salvaged prop- erly and legally. We also use steel pipe, a fair amount of which is made from recycled steel.
The products in our catalog are the items we make and stock on a regular basis. New products are being developed all the time. We will send product updates to our customers on a regular basis. We can also customize any of these products to meet your needs. If you need something longer, shorter, bigger, or smaller, please let us know. We can also quote custom designs. Simply email pictures or sketches and rough dimensions to: asylumantiques@yahoo.com
About Barnwood
Barns were usually made from the wood produced from the trees on site. It made no sense to haul lum- ber in to build a barn, when more than likely, trees were cut down to make room for the barn. So barns were made from indigenous softwoods like White Pine, Tamarack, and Cedar, as well as hardwoods like Maple, Oak, Hickory, Ash, Elm, Beech, and even Walnut.
If the boards came from the outside walls of a barn, they could be very dark and weathered, and even have some residual paint. If they came from the inside walls of a barn, they could be worn smooth from constant rubbing by animal stock, and much lighter in color. We have even seen boards from grain shoots that had been polished to a high sheen.
As a general rule, we prefer the more rustic appearing wood. The more character the better, but we do have to work with what is available. So, every piece we make is unique in charm and condition. The pic- tures in our catalog are representative of what your item will look like. Size and design will remain the same. Appearance of the lumber in your piece could vary, making yours, yours. Rest assured there will be no two exactly alike. That is what excites us about using this amazing, reclaimed wood.
