Furniture Designed and Built by Ryan McKeown of I Branched Out
It’s rare that trendy and timeless overlap, but if any décor and furniture styling can claim to have real estate in that sweet spot right now, it’s live-edge wood pieces. At once sophisticated and rustic, live-edge wood is showing up in everything from bar tops and wine racks to mantels, hanging art, and floating shelves.
At I Branched Out in Parry Sound, owner-operator and wood craftsman Ryan McKeown sources the finest kiln-dried wood for his live- and straight-edge custom furniture and décor. Through a Toronto supplier, Ryan has access to hard-to-find sizes in black locust, walnut, maple, and bird’s eye maple, as well as prized reclaimed deep-water wood from Georgian Bay, Lake Ontario, and the St. Lawrence River. From his supplier in Burk’s Falls, Ryan gets stunning cherry wood, popular for its closed-grain pattern and tendency to deepen in colour over time.
Ryan finishes every piece with multiple coats of either a food-grade mineral oil–beeswax mix or Osmo’s food-safe hardwax oil and sends his customers off with extra oil to re-coat as needed. He enjoys working with epoxy resin and welcomes the creative challenge of custom orders. “If you have an idea,” he says, “drop in and let’s talk.”
Turn heads with this extraordinary walnut table, featuring metallic blue epoxy with green undertones, a waterfall edge on one end, and a one-and-a-half foot metal trapezoid leg at the other. Finished with a natural oil. An absolute original.
Understand the meaning of “statement piece” as your visitors comment again and again on the unique bird’s-eye grain, natural contours, and rugged beauty of this table top, shown here with trapezoid legs. With rich natural colours brought to full advantage by seven coats of hand-rubbed tongue oil, a true treasure.
Pictured at right, this stunning coffee table is 42 inches long and 18 to 23 inches wide. Showcasing a garnet colouring, the 1.25-inch-thick top is finished with hand-rubbed oil. Available with hairpin legs or metal trapezoid legs, as shown here.
This table is seven feet long and 43 inches high and can seat eight comfortably. The base is a structural cherry tie with two-inch steel cross legs, allowing for ample leg room. Finished with an Osmo stain, it has a commercial grade oil/hardwax finish. Its legs can be left natural, finished in satin black (as pictured) or custom stained.
Shown at left is a standing bar made with two-inch square steel stock for the legs. The top is 87 inches long, between 22 and 24 inches wide, and 1 3/4 inches thick. Made from reclaimed maple, its incredible natural grain is brought out by seven coats of hand-rubbed oil finish. This unique piece has beautiful mineral staining from the time spent as a log at the bottom of one of the Great Lakes. The wood was legally reclaimed with permit by one of very few companies authorized to do so.
This high-gloss top has a graphite epoxy down the centre, giving it both rustic and modern appeal. Measuring 42 inches long and between 30 and 33 inches wide, it is shown here with steel legs, but can be customized to suit your style.
Finished with hand-rubbed tongue oils, this bench is supported by steel hairpin legs. The steel is left natural and clear-coated to lock in its unique colours. Measuring between 14 and 22 inches wide and 84 inches long, it makes for functional and striking entryway décor.
