THE TRANSFORMATIVE BEAUTY OF RECYCLED MESSMATE BENCHTOPS - FROM FACTORY TO FASHIONABLE HOME

It takes vision, knowledge and a great deal of appreciation of the nuances of varied timber species to take a demolition pile of timber and transform it into what you see here.

The glossy Messmate benchtops below were unrecognisable in their original incarnation as roof purlins, which once held up the roof of the Tontine Factory in Coburg.

After salvaging them by hand, with the use of a cherry picker over the course of weeks and weeks of hard labour, Nullarbor's Brendan Donchi took them to his Moama processing mill to bring them back to life. By his assessment, the timber likely came from the Gippsland forests many many decades ago.

NST's own joiners carefully shaved years off the hard woods and transformed them into custom made benches for both commercial and private use in homes and offices. 

It can be seen in the following commercial project: Young Gun Builders Projects : Display Home in Moama.

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We think you'II agree, the added warmth of the honey brown messmate hues, along with the contemporary, blocked edge of the design make a bold and eye-popping statement when contrasted with the black, silver and gold lighting accents.
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BRENDAN DONCHI ON MESSMATE:

"Messmate is a premium recycled feature timber that recalls turn-of-the-century grandeur. I recommend it for select parcels because of its sheer quality and how it reacts well to the ageing process, but I also love the natural gum veins, its character and personality. It really is a species full of personality and in very clean, clinical, modern design, adding timber with character and contrast - even a few distressed features - adds much-needed natural beauty. The warm, mellow brown and honey tones, contrasted with black gum veins make it an ideal timber for benchtops, flooring and statement furniture."

"At Nullarbor, we have amassed stock piles of well-preserved Messmate. Using readily-available species like Messmate is a sustainable choice, not only because it takes the pressure off the environment, but also because it promotes (and makes more popular) the domestic use of natural hardwoods that have distinct, unique and unconventional aesthetic properties."

"Australian designers and builders are waking up to the hidden beauty of aged, rustic timbers and are embracing the imperfections inherent in these native timbers. For the benefit of the environment and our industry, may it continue."

-Brendan Donchi,
Managing Director, Nullarbor Sustainable Timber.
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THE PROCESS : From Factory to Fashionable Home.

Click through these images to see the historical origins of the Tontine factory salvation job.

Nullarbor Sustainable Timber have proudly claimed back a piece of Australia's past and re-fashioned it for use in modern spaces.

Talk to us today about your building project.

MESSMATE TIMBER 

Messmate is a well-known Australian hardwood with timber varying in colour from pale browns through to light yellows with subtle hints of peach. Other Names: Messmate Stringybark, Brown-top Stringybark, Australian Oak, Tasmanian Oak, Victorian Messmate.

For more on our range of Benchtops click here.

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