Furniture From Reclaimed Cable Drums
Kabeltromlen is a Danish maker that builds outdoor furniture from industrial cable drums, pallets and other reclaimed timber. Each drum has already had a working life, and the marks from it stay in the finished piece, so no two tables or benches come out the same.
The result is furniture with a rustic character that sits well in a greenhouse, on a terrace or beside a fire pit. It reads as something built rather than manufactured, which suits a garden setting better than most flat pack outdoor furniture does.
Made to Order
Pieces are made individually rather than pulled from stock, which means dimensions can be adjusted to fit a particular space. In a greenhouse, where the gap between staging and the door is often the constraint, that flexibility matters more than it would indoors.
It also means lead times are longer than for a stock item. If you are fitting out a new structure, order the furniture at the same time as the frame rather than after it is up.
Living With Reclaimed Timber
Old timber behaves differently from new. It has already dried and moved, which makes it stable, but the surface carries the history: nail holes, saw marks, weathering and colour variation across a single board.
- Treat the timber periodically if the piece lives outdoors year round.
- Raise it off wet paving on feet or pads so the base does not sit in standing water.
- Inside a greenhouse, expect the wood to take up and release moisture with the humidity.
None of that is a fault. It is what distinguishes reclaimed timber from a uniform manufactured surface, and it is the reason the pieces look better after a few seasons rather than worse.
Where It Works
A cable drum table suits a greenhouse large enough to sit in, an orangery or a covered terrace. In a working house under ten square metres it will usually take space that staging needs, so consider the layout first.
The wider greenhouse furniture range covers lighter and folding options for smaller structures, and the interior styling range covers the textiles and fittings that go with them.
