The long awaited new oak tables for Tom’s Barn

We had long been planning, although somewhat dreamily, about updating the side tables and bedside cabinets in Tom’s Barn. They were all part of the original furniture eleven years ago when Tom’s Barn was born; they had seen good service but even eleven years ago were not exactly from the toppest of ‘top drawers.

Our dream were rapidly forced into reality when the last inspector agreed all too readily with our suggestion that they were due for replacement, and also the easy chair which although still relatively new and expensively upholstered had never recovered from an ‘expert’ dry cleaning by a firm in Sheffield which seemed to do nothing but accentuate any slight marks already there (and why we had it cleaned in the first place)…

We rapidly found a new chair made by a furniture maker in Brailsford,  and that has been in the barn for some time now (unfortunately not too visibly in these photo. We also asked a local joiner to make some oak furniture (coffee table, two side tables and two bedside cabinets). The six weeks we were quoted stretched into about ten, but never mind, handmade and all looking brilliant they arrived today  – so we hadn’t been dreaming all along, after all…!

Fortunately it was changeover day, so in went the new stuff, and out came the old. And guess where it went? All to our house!! We are always quite happy with the cast-offs, and can guarantee they’ll be comfortable even if past their sell-by date.

A few of John’s photos are here but for masses more taken by John this afternoon, look at our gallery.