apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I love VivaTerra, You should see their coffee table and shelves!

This is fantastic. It's almost too bad I've been finishing my "new" dining table and chairs, this would be so worth it.

Takes my breath away. The ultimate in sleek, green and rustic all in a few artistic lines and interesting materials.

I think railroad ties are somewhat toxic I quick google search found this "Are railroad ties safe? At issue is creosote, a powerful preservative that's applied to railroad ties. Creosote is a thick, oily pungent-smelling liquid made from the distillation of wood or coal tar. It has been linked to a number of health problems--including skin and respiratory disorders. If you were to expose yourself for long periods of time to creosote--especially on a warm day when it's more volatile--there's a chance you could wind up needing medical attention." http://www2.hgtv.com/hgtv/gl_plants_weeds/article/0,1785,HGTV_3617_1397094,00.html

Anne, I agree that they have beautiful bookshelves and nesting tables. I seriously covet the bookshelves- maybe one day when I have a bigger place. I think Viva Terra may be owned by the same people who own Sundance at http://www.sundancecatalog.com .

Yes, dzunuqua. Exactly my concern. Lots of folks use old railway ties around here for edgings in the garden. There must be a way to to de-creosote them. (Though I would wonder how thorough it could be. The ties are just soaked in the stuff.) It's nasty.

I love! The table and chairs look rustic...but still a great addition to most rooms. The materials used are great!

I love the look of these, really beautiful. I never thought of the possibility of the railroad ties being toxic......

Creosote is definitely an environmental/health hazard, but my father tells stories about collecting creosote-soaked railroad ties as a kid in Minneapolis during the Depression to burn for heat at home. He's 87 right now and in excellent health (biked ten miles to my brother's place last weekend (and he'd already been biking earlier in the day)).

Gorgeous table/chairs.

Looks nice but also looks very uncomfortable and I bet its heavy.

Uh-oh. I was on the verge of buying VivaTerra's railroad-tie boxes, since the boxes are on sale right now. But now i am thinking i don't want to risk having toxic material in my apartment. Can anyone shed further light on whether all furniture made with railroad-ties have this issue?

Contact VivaTerra and ask them what they've done about the creosote. Then let us know.

Well, all old railroad ties in the U.S. have the issue, as do telephone poles. It is possible to remove most creosote from old wood. So if you know the manufacturer, you can ask if/how the wood is treated to remove creosote.

If the creosote hasn't been substantially removed, bear in mind that the effects of ongoing creosote exposure are potentially a lot nastier and more permanent than what you get from, say, carpet off-gassing or the VOCs from painting your apartment with ordinary paint.

I'd be interested in hearing the verdict on creosote as well. I know RR ties are an environmental hazard.

As for VivaTerra, every time I get that catalog I fold down about half the pages because they contain things I covet! It takes me forever to recycle the catalog because there is so much in it I want to buy.

Becky

I just got off the phone with VivaTerra.

They purchase the railroad ties from countries that don't use creosote.

(Whew, that's a relief. I was getting stressed out because the creosote factor hadn't occurred to me.)

i bought the reclaimed railroad tie mirrors from wisteria, and they REEK. my whole house smelled of chemicals for weeks after i brought them in. they've def. got something going on.

Thanks Leslie.

There were so many things I wanted from VivaTerra and I finally broke down and made a purchase. I love my teak bath mat, but was sad to see that they charge sales tax on both the item and the shipping. Lucky Californians!

Haven't we realized yet that humans aren't flat and chair seats and backs should have a little bit of a curve???? Why do designers still make chairs like this?

Speaking of VivaTerra, I've been meaning to ask about people's experiences with the company in general. I'm in the process of Curing my living room, and the railroad tie coffee table is in my style tray, but I thought I'd read somewhere about people having bad customer service experiences and untimely shipping. Can anyone comment?

I'm thinking of purchasing the dining table, but would like to see what it looks like from the side first. I called but they don't have any other pictures they can send.

Has anyone else purchased the table? If so could you snap some pics? Also is it sturdy?

I bought a railroad tie table from Sundance. It is identical to one sold at VivaTerra. The railroad tie tables/furniture seem to be from the same manufacturer since the style is the same. Immediately upon unpackaging the table, we were hit by an overwhelming bad odor, which I later identified as creosote. We experienced headaches from the fumes and itchiness and rashes from handling the table. I researched creosote and learned that it is classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as a probable carcinogen. The railroad tie table I received was unfit for indoor use, or for any use where pets or children might touch it, or for any use involving utensils, plates, or serving dishes, or for any use where you might have to touch it. There is NO way I will ever have any furniture made from railroad ties in my household.

I am a merchant from VivaTerra and wanted to share with you our findings on this collection. (sorry for the long post!)

Like many of you, we were attracted to the clean lines and rustic chic of these pieces, and we loved that they reuse a precious resource; hardwood. Our ties are from colonial era India and as noted they are usually ironwood or teak that has degraded to the point of being unusable as a tie. They are either being replaced by concrete, plastic or wooden ties, or not replaced as railroad is no longer in use.

According to an advisor at the Railroad Tie Association the history of treating wood ties in the US did not begin in earnest until the early part of the 20th century. Then even after that it took several decades for them all to be treated. Since the US was the most industrial nation during this time period we have been told that it is extremely unlikely that creosote (a by-product of the coal coking process used for steel making) would have been used to any extent in India to treat ties. With the vast amount of naturally durable wood species like ironwood and teak available locally and throughout the British Empire we believe that it is highly improbable that anyone would have spent the money to use a wood preservative. Also, the maker of this furniture has told us that they do not believe the ties were treated. Nevertheless, we have been investigating testing options for the wood.

In regards to packaging concerns, the pieces use the same amount of packaging whether you buy them from a local store or a catalog. We belive that catalog shopping can be a more efficient route for buying goods - the efficiency of consolidated shipments (to our warehouse and direct to the customer) eliminates the middle step in non-catalog shopping: shipping to stores and driving to stores by customers.

And lastly, thank you to all our fans on this site - it's great to read the feedback and to feel the appreciation for the collection we've put together. Eco-living has never been a trend for us. We mailed our first catalog in 2004 and everyone here has been passionate about sustainable design well before it was trendy.

OK, that's all I've got! I appologize for any delays and frustration with customer service. We are continually trying to upgrade our servive. Thanks, and happy home making...
p.s. the chairs really are comfortable!

I did purchase this table. It's beautiful and it does not smell one bit!

But do beware, portions of the wood table has fill in it and would look so much nicer it it were of a better cut of wood. It is partially neglectable due to the rustic nature of the table. The table also has rough edges, which cause large splinters of wood to catch on clothing

Only 7 days after recieving the table it cracked on me. It cracked the length wise, 72 inches and completly through the thickness of the table. If the structure beneath it were not box shaped, then the cracked portion would have falled off.

Customer service was kind enough to offer to replace the table, but it's been three and half weeks and they have not yet contacted me regarding the pickup service of the damaged table. I have called them fours time and emailed twice and gotten zero help or response. They only response they offer to my calls is "we will forward your concern to cooporate".

I'm sad that I spend over a grand on a gorgeous table, that's broken only a week after recieving it and gotten nothing but poor customer service in return. It was my first big purchase for my new home and my first purchase with Vivaterra.

Shoddy design built from rotten chemically treated wood = bad idea for a dining table

I purchased this table from VivaTerra and spoke with a sales rep who assured me that the railroad ties were from 'cuttings' and 'trimmings' from wood that would later be made into ties. Therefore, they hadn't been treated with any chemicals. They also assured me that I would recieve a call when my shipment would be arriving (b/c I wouldn't want a large expensive piece of furniture to sit on my door step for anyone to steal or damaged or get rained on! would you?).

I arrived to find my newly purchased table and chairs sitting on my doorstep....no phone call as promised. The table was damaged (split right down the middle!) with stripped screws missing from the braces on the back.

Customer service was less than stellar......they have promised to call me to schedule a pick-up (which will be two weeks from today, if I'm lucky). Meanwhile, I have a splintered table that smells of diesel fuel sitting in my living room. And, frankly, I wouldn't eat off this table in fear of ingesting chemicals. Now, I am told by VivaTerra that the ties are from India (which was not the story I heard initially). Interesting.

And to quote VivaTerra, "Nevertheless, we have been investigating testing options for the wood." That would have come in handy before you began selling a piece of furniture that people may eat off of, such as a table.

This situation stinks!

Buyer Beware when dealing with this table and VivaTerrra. The table we received was in bad shape and was very wobbly. The chairs that came with it were even worse. My first call to return this was in December and 3 months later we are still waiting to hear back from them. I must talk to them every week, but as mentioned by others, they make promises to respond but don't. I am ready to just ship it to their main office and if they do not credit me, fine. At this point it just a reminder of a poor choice my wife and I made. It looks great in their catalog, but is very disappointing in person.

Beautiful pieces, but the customer service complaints have steered me away from dealing with them.

Such a shame, they have some gorgeous work.

here's an update to my comment above:
One month after recieving the first table, which cracked, I got the replacement table...this one had a gorgeous color to it, and seemed to be made of more solid wood (less fill) but had a huge scratch on the top surface. I declined the delivery and finally 30 days after the second table I got the third table, which was completely broken upon arrival. Needless to say I've called custemer service many time throughout the three months. I did get my refund back two days (103 days after placing my original purchase) after the third table was recieved and declined.....what a frustrating ordeal.

Update:
After several phone calls and several weeks, we were able to send our table and chairs back. It just takes a while.......and it is frustrating.

Boy, am I glad I found this thread.

I've been drooling over this dining set and the coffee tables. Even though I resent the White Glove charge per item, I was ready to cave and buy these items.

They're gorgeous, but, I'm so glad that I heard of all the problems before I bought them.

I'm not buying these or anything else from VivaTerra.

Thank you all.

P.S. -- I think I'm going to buy from ROOM AND BOARD.

http://www.roomandboard.com/rnb/

Not as exciting, but, it looks like good quality. I was at the store the other day.