Let it be, wood. In Joshua Tree, you can’t escape the sense to just let things be. We have not landscaped our home because the natural pattern of Mojave Desert plants that surround our property are the perfect example. We could never beat Joshua Tree’s natural form. As a result, we have hummingbirds, quails, rabbits with us all day, and coyotes coming through at night. It feels like an extension of the National Park just a few minutes away. So inside the home, we try to let nature be as well with our handcrafted wood furniture.
While my retail therapy comes from shopping on 29 Palms Hwy downtown, my husband’s is salvaged wood. He is the first person friends will call if they are cutting down trees on their property. He can also be found browsing aisles of raw wood at reclaimed wood warehouses. Sometimes he’s simply cutting down a branch to carve a spoon. Desert Julep is slowly filling with the bounty of his passion. Our wood furniture, handcrafted by Victor, is not processed. It is minimally shaped. Mainly, it is just lovingly smoothed and finished.
Eucalyptus Stump Side Table
Our first handcrafted wood furnishing came from the need for a small place to set your drink. We needed a small side table and a friend of ours needed to get rid of some eucalyptus. Victor picked up a few stumps and got to work. He had to hand-make his own tools at first. He carefully leveled the stump so our drinks wouldn’t slide off and it sat straight. Then he spent days sanding and naturally polishing the wood. The result is the most gorgeous cream colored stump with a beautiful red ring exposed in the center. My glass has never been supported so well.
Mesquite Headboard
Victor’s next project started after a trip to Reclaimed Wood San Diego. He found a gorgeous piece of Mesquite. Mesquite is native and prolific in the desert and is a sustainable wood to harvest. The shape was perfect as it was. It would be a headboard for our downstairs queen bedroom. He leveled the back so it could hang safely and steadily on the wall. Then he sanded down to expose the beauty of the wood. Some natural polish highlighted it just a bit more.
Salvaged Mahogany Coffee Table
Next Victor came across a small piece of salvaged mahogany. It was a gorgeous piece of wood abandoned because it had a bullet hole on one end. Victor brought it home and started his process of slowly refining the wood to bring out it’s natural beauty. The size was perfect for a small coffee table so he added two iron legs handmade off Etsy and placed it prominently at the Desert Julep.
Salvaged Redwood Entry Table
The same day he found the mahogany, Victor also found a long slender piece of salvaged redwood from a tree that had to be cut down in Balboa Park, San Diego. Victor grew up in San Diego and I grew up back and forth in San Diego and the desert, so Balboa Park was part of both our childhoods. Today we take our sons there and meetup with family and friends to create new memories for them, too. This piece was the perfect size for an entry table, so again, Victor sourced handmade legs off Etsy and prepared the wood for its new life at the Desert Julep.
If you are staying at the Desert Julep, you are part of the story for these pieces, too. If you’ve yet to stay, our home is curated with local art and sits on a hill filled with Joshua Trees and native plants, just minutes from the park. Come be inspired. Checkout our availability on Airbnb.
Looking for more things to do in Joshua Tree? Please checkout our list of articles for where to eat, shop and play in Joshua Tree.