For a bath person, it is heaven to luxuriate with whatever you need close at hand: cocktail, herb tea, iPad, novel… A bath board that rests across the tub makes for a perfect surface to rest things on.

Recently, we saw an easy-to-make iteration that David Sanford made for a friend (What a wonderful gift!). He cut an ample length of wild edge Douglas fir, sanded the surface and finished it with water-based polyurethane.

“Live edge” means the natural edge of the wood is left intact, for a rustic feel. You can find various kinds of live edge wood at some lumber yards and on Ebay. Just search “live edge“.
The shape does not have to be uniform; it can echo the natural shape of the tree, like this Ambrosia Maple…

or Nicaraguan rosewood which has a graphical feel…

We love this walnut slab…

These big Larch rounds are compelling. Wonder if we could lift ’em. What a bath table one would make!

We’re thinking it would be lovely to have an evocative slab of wood in our bathroom.