The Story

Red Door Furniture Co. started from a table Jeff made more than a decade ago. It was made out of an old door his dad found on a job site in downtown St. Louis. He spent hours and hours stripping and sanding the top of the table. By the time he got to the underside, he grabbed the nearest thing he could find...a can of red paint and slapped on a coat. Years later, we named our little company Red Door Furniture Co.

First RDFCo. Table

I've been sharing alot of the new items we will be offering in our shop -- we are trying hard to stick to unique home decor that is handcrafted, restyled or found by us. It's not easy! But, we're building a curated collection where each piece holds it's own little story. Just waiting for you to bring it home and add it to yours!

Today we're going out to look for old doors for dining room tables, sofa tables, bars, headboards...you name it! We'll be setting up an area of the store where, if we don't have a table in stock that fits your needs, you can select the door that does (as you can see below...no two are ever the same).

This weekend, Jeff will be working on a dining room table that I'm really excited about. We found the door below at a local antique store. It's perfectly chippy and rustic looking. Follow us on Facebook for updates and pics this weekend. I can't wait to see it when it's done!

Custom Work: Schulz Table

We have another busy weekend ahead of us. On Saturday, we're meeting some friends of ours who are wanting a sofa table. We've invited them along with us to help find the perfect door and be a part of the process (something we offer in our custom program). Which got me thinking, we never shared our first custom table we created! This table was completed earlier this year and remains one of the most unique so far!

 We met the Schulz's at one of our favorite local salvage shops. We arrived a bit early to scout it out and get a general idea of what they had (it can be pretty overwhelming). Initially, the request was for a window box table where the top could be opened and things could be stored inside for display.

We stumbled upon two nearly identical doors that they immediately fell in love with. One was a mirror and one was glass and both had the same leaded pattern. (It was also a similar pattern they had in the windows of their Clayton home). Some old spindles were found to be used as legs.

While the design itself was simple, the process to get there was time consuming. Both doors and the spindles had to be stripped. While we typically don't strip doors because of the time involved and chemicals, we did this time and used a stripper that contains no methylene chloride, is non-caustic and safe for indoor use.

 The oak wood on the doors was beautiful. The stain was chosen to match the other furniture in their living room.

Of course it got the signature "Red Door" treatment underneath.

Our custom program is available for dining room tables, sofa tables, side tables...whatever you need! Get more info here.

Pottery Barn Tivoli Table Knock-Off

As you may have noticed, RDFCo. has taken a little break these last few months, as we are in the process of building a new home. Typically, we do all of our work out of our house and garage and our two-room,  second-floor apartment doesn't lend itself to building. {insert frown here}

Last month, out of the blue, we got an email from the person who purchased one of our tables from our very first show, almost a year ago. She was wanted a table similar to Pottery Barn's Tivoli Console table. Of course, we wanted to make it happen!

The Tivoli table is long and skinny and measures 84.5" long x 17" deep x 30.5" high. She wanted similar legs and no drawers. Here's a pic of the inspiration:

Pottery Barn Tivoli Table

Jeff wanted to find one piece of wood that could be used for the top. Because the table would be so narrow and long, a door wasn't going to be possible. We found a large (and very heavy) piece of white oak at a local hardwoods store. It was harvested about 50 years ago in Ohio. It's supposed to be close to 100 years old!

Once we dug all of his tools out of storage, Jeff got to work!

Here's shot before it was stained.

 

And here's the finished product. Nearly perfect match!

Tivoli Table

The board came with a couple of cracks on one end. We opted to leave them in. Cutting it would have made the table too short, and, since we wanted a more worn, rustic look, it fits the table well.

Tivoli Table

Jennifer is coming tomorrow to pick it up -- we can't wait for her to see it!