Repurposing Vintage Wood
1850 Milk Painted Bowl is from a recycled vintage wood beam. The beam was salvaged from a beam in a renovation of New York City building.
This set of four bowls are from reclaiming wood from an 1850 Brooklyn Brownstone. Many nineteenth century buildings in New York undergo renovation each year. Landmark laws protect the outside of the building and must remain with the historical front facing. When the contractors do the interior work they remove vintage beams. A good friend salvages these wood beams to mill vintage flooring. With access to these beams from the 1800’s I enjoy making bowls from this antique wood. I clean up the surface, but maintain the cracks and crevices that are 150 plus years. These texture surfaces receive layers of different colors of milk paint. I will paint at least two different colors and then sand until both layers appear. This technique is often seen on vintage furniture where layers of paint are worn away exposing the color below the surface.
Process
I shape the square bowls on a lathe. Because I am using a vintage beam I want to maintain the square form of the beam. I cut off a section and mount it on the lathe and then turn a concave recess in the center. This smooth recess contrasts the rough lumber surface with nail holes and tool marks. Once the form is complete I wire brush the one hundred plus years of dirt away and use colorful milk paint to bring new life to these up-cycled wood boards. These square bowls are great cell phone holders, jewelry keepers or a safe place to drop your keys when you return home.
If you like this 1850 Milk Painted Bowl take a look at another bowl from wood of historical importance from the Underground Railroad Trail in New York. Historic Wood from The Underground Railroad
Gifts
If you need a special gift and you do not see it in my store on this website, take a look at my Etsy store.
Studio
I make all my items in my Montvale, New Jersey, USA studio.