Fable Porch Furniture
3 August 2010
“A Joyful Heart”
One of the more intriguing design concepts I have come across is the use of antique farmhouse items, the sort of things one would find in a farmhouse that has stood for a century or more. There is something quite comforting about using items that have been used for so long by others, because every time you touch these items, you find yourself reflecting on the history of the piece itself. However, there are, as there is with anything, I suppose, a fair number of problems that attend to furnishing one’s home with items like these, beginning with obtaining the item itself. Given the rapidly changing world in which we live, the number of aging farmhouses is rapidly diminishing, as are the number of items from these homes. Beyond that there is the cost of these items, because anything that is held to be an antique tends to cost more than the same item if it were purchased brand new.
But sometimes, to be honest about it, all we’re really looking to achieve is not the ownership of a particular item, but the look of a certain item. The rustic farmhouse look is something that is very appealing to some people, but it is not always as easy to achieve as it seems at first blush. The thought is that antique farmhouse items can be easily replicated by those willing to invest a little sweat capital. One simply visits flea markets and refurbishes the purchases 
made there. The reality, though, is that not everyone has the necessary mind set to do that particular work, and even those who do may lack the necessary skills to do the job completely. The problem with any old furniture is that it is old, which necessarily means that the glue has aged with the piece.
Unless you’re a cabinetmaker with the necessary skill set to completely disassemble an item of furniture, clean out the aging glue and re-glue the piece, though, I do think that simply going down to a flea market may be a mistake. Yes, you can re-finish the piece, but will it then be sound? I still remember the dining room table and chairs I refinished as a total amateur. The finished project looked nice, but the glue had failed, and an aging uncle came close to disaster at a subsequent dinner party! Not knowing how to do it at that time, I had to enlist the services of a professional woodworker to re-glue the chairs.
So that, after much too long an introduction, brings us to Fable Porch Furniture by March Legend. Fable Porch Furniture has an entire line of products that are brand-new, but, with their distressed paint finishes, are made to look as though they have been around for a long period of time. I sho
uld point out, too, that their products are also available with stains and clear finishes, but still with the patina of age. What this means, though, is that you have the best of both worlds: the old and the new brought together by master craftsmen.
The other item that is well worth mentioning is their environmental consciousness, because that sort of thing is beginning to become increasingly important in these days of global warming and the like. Fable Porch Furniture has consciously set out to use non toxic finishes and glues that do not contain formaldehyde, to mention just two of their many don’ts. What they mean to do, though, is to use renewable, EARTH FRIENDLY products in the manufacture and finishing of their products. Another element that particularly appeals to me in these days of ship-all-the-jobs-to-China-so-a-handful-of-fat-cats-can-get-even-fatter is the fact that they make all of their products right here in America.
Really, Fable Porch Furniture is good for the environment, good for the economy, and good for one’s wallet. They say a joyful heart is good medicine. So is corporate responsibility.
Joseph
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