Barn Furniture Blog » History

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: November 11 , 2009

Leon — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:48:07 +0000

There’s Leon, president of Barn Furniture Mart, on one of his first deliveries (circa 1953). Can’t start ‘em too early, I guess. Wondering what Leon looks like today? Check out Leon’s Facebook profile and find out!

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: November 3, 2009

Leon — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:17:54 +0000

The Barn Furniture (1949) on Sepulveda Blvd. one block south of Victory Blvd.

This picture, taken in or around 1949, shows some of our early efforts to meet the needs of residents who were adventurous enough to move way out to the San Fernando Valley, CA. That included our brave soldiers who had just returned from the war, who could scoop up a brand new track home for a few thousand dollars.

Those that made the San Fernando Valley their home could buy the ladderback chairs seen here for $1.49 each or they could splurge on the kidney bench, seen in the foreground, for their wife to sit on while she did her make up. The Directors’ Chairs, on the left, were a very hot item with such close proximity to Hollywood, although without freeways we were still quite remote. Note that the front of our store was unpaved and unroofed at this time. You can’t see the small barn, set back from the street, where we stored the merchandise at night.

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: The Barn Furniture (1945)

Leon — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 22:41:10 +0000

The Barn Furniture (1945) on Sepulveda Blvd. one block south of Victory Blvd.

This picture was taken in 1945 soon after the Tubermans bought the business from an unfinished and patio furniture shop owner for $8,000 inclusive of land and inventory. Phil Tuberman brought his experience in the bicycle business and Millie Tuberman brought her love for design to The Barn Furniture and the two made an unstoppable team.

In the early years, redwood patio furniture was a significant portion of the business due to its durability and rot-resistant properties. However, because cutting redwood was not ecologically safe and considerably expensive, The Barn drifted away from this west coast wood. Fortunately, The Barn Furniture has recently found that east coast red cedar provides the same rot-resistant properties that the redwood provided without the same shortage.