AWL Western Wood is a rustic furniture company based in Snowflake, Arizona. It has been in business for about nine years and is run by David Barnes, who is not only a furniture aficionado but is also a traveling minister. For more information, visit www.awlwesternwood.com.
Q&A WITH DAVID BARNES:
What kinds of log furniture does your company manufacture and/or sell?
We make our furniture out of Alligator Juniper wood, which comes from a very large tree. We log it and mill it – we do the whole thing. We make dining room sets, couches, cabinets, staircases, doors, basically all types of furniture. We do all our own installation and deliver most of it to our customers.
How much do your pieces of furniture cost?
An 8-piece dining room set for a table and chairs runs about $5,000. A bedroom set with a dresser and nightstands is about $3,600. Cabinets go for about $600. Our furniture more artistic than plain log furniture, but it costs half the price or less of what others may charge in many cases.
What are the most popular kinds of log furniture?
Cabinets, staircases, rail systems, dining room sets, and beds are the most popular. But we work on whole houses as well.
Briefly describe how you make a piece of log furniture.
To make a table, we use two pieces. We use two pieces and put them together with biscuit joints. The leg systems are bolted and screwed together. We don’t use any nails. It’s all screws and lag bolts, which makes it very durable. A dining room set takes can take about 11 days to make. But it doesn’t include the time to log and mill the wood.
How did you get into making log furniture?
I had an outdoor cedar furniture company before. But I wanted to get into something that hardly anyone else was doing. Once I found the Alligator Juniper wood and took off with it. I’ve built furniture all my life.
What’s the craziest custom request you’ve had for furniture?
Some people want something that’s all twisted. They want character. One person wanted a burnt hole in the middle of a table, The wood we use is forest fire-burnt, so it’s got some burn marks on it and some people want them left on there.
What kinds of log furniture do you enjoy making most?
I like making staircases and cabinets the most. My second choice would probably be dining room sets.