I remember in movies about life during medieval times, they would show scenes where commoners were having celebrations or parties of a sort in their villages. It seemed they always used these huge, thick slabs of wood as dining tables. They didn’t seem to be anything fancy at all, just heavy, solid pieces that were able to support all the food that they always had at those events.

They came to mind when I saw the wooden tables being showcased by a New York company called Hudson Furniture Inc. As you can see from the images below (just click on them to enlarge) their tables look like the wood from which they are made was taken from huge, old trees that had been felled just recently. They look so natural, so organic.

But it isn’t true that their wooden tables are products of illegal logging. In fact, the company takes great pains to comply with wood harvesting and exportation rules (the wood they use they also send to other countries, I gather). Their wood comes from salvaged or trees that have been damaged by storms or wind. The company is also the state’s only legal repository of petrified wood, which is great to transform into furniture since though it retains all the characteristics of wood, feels like stone. They use various wood types for the furniture they make: jasmine, satinwood, acacia, claro walnut, black walnut, ebonized pine, etc.

Maybe the long dining tables they have won’t be suitable for use as modern bar tables where space is limited. Still, if your restaurant or hotel can accommodate such big pieces, you might want to consider getting one or two. They can be customized according to your requirements.