When we were designing Tambi’s interior, the brief was simple: nothing new that could be old. Every surface that could be made from reclaimed material would be. The furniture would be teakwood — and it would not come from a showroom.
The Source
Old Karnataka houses are being demolished at a rate that would alarm historians and architects. When a 1930s bungalow comes down in Mysuru or a 1940s heritage home is cleared in Mangaluru, the teak doors, window frames, ceiling beams, and floor joists are often sold as scrap or left to rot.
We work with two salvage partners who track demolitions across Karnataka. When a property comes down, they negotiate with the demolition contractor for the timber rights. The wood is brought to a workshop in Tumkur where a team of four carpenters assess, clean, and re-dimension each piece.
What the Wood Carries
Reclaimed teak from a 70–90 year old home has properties that new plantation teak cannot replicate. The slow growth of old-forest teak produces tighter grain rings, higher oil content, and a natural patina that takes decades to develop. The deep amber colour of our tabletops — each slightly different — is the result of decades of oxidation and human contact.
Several of our tables were doors. If you look at the underside of the larger pieces, you can find traces of original paint, old hinge mortises, and occasional inscriptions. The marks are not defects. They are records.
The Craftsmen
The Tumkur workshop is run by Bhaskar and his son Suresh. Bhaskar has been working with teak for 44 years. His assessment of a piece of salvage timber — its structural integrity, whether it will move with humidity, whether the grain will split under a particular joint — takes him approximately ninety seconds and is almost never wrong.
We do not rush the process. Each table takes two to four weeks from salvage arrival to delivery. There is no shortcut that produces the same result.