Take my word for it, watching this time-lapse video will leave your computer far cleaner than witnessing the actual build. (Get your mind out of the gutter, I’m talking about sawdust, you creep.)

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The Guts

We are stoked that the finished walls look just like, well…big stacks of firewood. But underneath it all lies a simple frame of steel studs and sheetrock. No frills, no gimmicks.

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The Firewood

When it was all said and done, we used about twelve cords of locally purchased firewood for the two walls.

At one point half our office was buried in under firewood, giant fans...

...and saw dust. Piles and piles of sawdust.

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Construction

Each log was cut down to a length of about four inches and then adhered to a plywood substrate (for strength). Kyle and Will spent weeks upon weeks fitting the firewood into place, and though I’m certain they would accept death to avoid doing it again, it was a great experiment and it couldn’t have turned out better. Like almost everything in the office, it was finished with linseed oil.

We notched select logs and wrapped them around the wall at the doorways. Several of them still sport green moss and the bark adds a great textural touch.

Photo: Lincoln Barbour

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The Wood

Apart from the doors, which are made from old crates, the entire kitchenette is made of fir that we got from a 1904 barn from Wenatchee, via the ReBuilding Center. No plywood. Nothing from Home Depot. Just 103-year-old fir.

The dark wood on the left is what the fir looked like when we picked it up. The pile on the right has been milled down. We did this for every piece of wood used in the office — it was extremely time consuming.

I'm sure Kyle wishes he could reclaim the weeks of his life that was spent gluing, clamping, gluing, clamping...

Even the shelves were milled from solid barn rafters

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The Countertop

At 14′, the most challenging aspect of the countertop was balancing the size with our desire for a really tight fit. When it was all said and done Kyle was able to finish it at under 1/16″ total tolerance, quite a feat considering the wonky nature of the 80-year-old mill it was fitted to.

The countertop was painstakingly patchworked together, which in the end proved to be worth the time invested.

I'm quite certain that Kyle's lungs are wallpapered with counterdust

A perfect fit

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The Doors

Each door is a patchwork of panels that we reclaimed from ancient whiskey, fruit, soda and medicine crates. Thanks eBay, we couldn’t have done it without you.

Hours of mix-and-match...

...slowly started to come together to make...

...seven finished compositions

A barn-style "X" ties the doors together

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The Backsplash

Once the base and countertop was finished, Greg Forcum created a massive steel backsplash that ties to the metalwork used throughout the office. He did an amazing job and the final product fit perfectly into place.

To ensure a snuggly fit, the backsplash was tacked together in place and then hauled off to Greg's shop to be fully welded and assembled

The finished backsplash weighed a bit more than a pregnant Rosanne and was carried in by giant men in kilts. I kid you not.

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STEP ONE: Find a pizza oven and take the base. We found ours in the basement of Rose’s Equipment and Supply down on SE Clay. If you haven’t had a scary-back-alley-illegal-bloodsport-tournament type of experience then head down to Rose’s basement. Keep your eyes peeled, bring a friend, and expect to find some crazy stuff.

Though it may have seen better years, this pizza oven base will soon be back in biz.

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STEP TWO: Buy some overpriced street signs and chop them up. Be prepared to spend a lot of time on eBay. Get that eBay iPhone app. Watch your bids like a Spanish soap opera. And then be prepared to spend a lot more then you ever, ever imagined paying for shipping.

Ours all came from Brooklyn, NY: Shore Parkway, 17th Avenue, and Bay Ridge Avenue.

Lay 'em out...

...and mill 'em down.

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STEP THREE: Destroy a barn and put it back together in the shape of a table. Our trusty tradesmen Kyle Sharp found the leftovers from a 1920’s barn and used it to build the guts of the table out and Greg Forcum did a bit of custom metal work to frame the table top. And there you have it, as simple as 1-2-3.

Getting dressed up

Drawers getting glued up

Getting framed up

Complete