About Kaerbygaard
Below you will see pictures of the farm and family members in ancient times, as well as pictures of the farm's recent generations and current employees. Our staff consists of furniture, machine and building joiners, and their combined competencies mean that we can handle all possible carpentry tasks.
We have also gathered useful knowledge about the wood we use and how our quality differs from the others.
Trees planted
Employees
Our farm
At Kaerbygaard we specialize in carpentry. We can make everything from plank dining tables, bookcases, staircases to wine cellars - the only limit is your imagination. While we are constantly looking to develop new ideas for quality wood furniture, we are also open to working with you on your wishes and needs. We take pleasure in developing unique furniture where design and good craftsmanship come together.
Hear more in the video below:
Here generations work, live and live with each other
They are sitting in the large dining room at Kaerbygaard with a cup of coffee in front of them. Emma the Labrador dog is snoring loudly in the kitchen, while Pia and Henrik Kibæk, the 8th and 9th generation on the farm, talk about what it's like to be three generations working, living and living together:
"It's fun to be part of a long story. We have been here for 270 years and we have always worked with nature", says Pia Kibæk.
She is keen to explain that working on the farm is about passing it on to the next generation. The 10th generation was born in 2018, and little Ingrid has already been meeting guests at the farm.
It is the family that meets guests everywhere, and Pia in particular meets many. Guests are greeted by Pia's smile, and she happily tells a bit of the long story from Kaerbygaard:
"We have had the finest Belgian horses in our stable. Sticks have also been made over time at Kaerbygaard, but people don't use them anymore, so it has always been natural at Kaerbygaard to adapt to the times," she says.
And much of today's time is spent in the carpentry workshop with each other and the many skilled carpenters employed to make the furniture.
It is quite deliberate that the family has chosen to employ some skilled, experienced carpenters for their joinery:
"Throughout all generations at Kaerbygaard , it has been important to have a passion for your work and a great professional pride. We only want to release products that make us proud - this applies to everything," says Henrik Kibæk.
It also means that the family has very high standards for themselves and their products.
"- The old horse stable is now our showroom today. Where some of the finest horses once stood, we now have our fine furniture. It's fun," she says.
Both the 8th and 9th generations agree that by far the most days are fun to work together goesit, but it can also be hard. Because unlike many other workplaces, where you go home at the end of the day and part from your colleagues, it doesn't work like that at Kærbygård.
"- We care about each other a lot, and we can talk a bit tough, but then we talk about it straight away - that's what it takes, as we're family."
They have learned a lot from working together:
"- When one of us can't, the others lift, because we have to finish"she says.
And they are not the first generations to work closely together, as it has always been the case that generations overlap in their work. The ambition that the 9th generation had for the farm was that there should be more life on the farm again, and that makes their mother proud.
"We have to adapt over the years to the world we are part of - we have always done that on the farm, and we have always had a pride. We have to make an effort - and we do", says Pia Kibæk with a big smile on her face.
Then she disappears out of the dining room again to deal with a few practical matters on the big old farm, and Henry returns to work on his computer.
Fyns Stiftidende:
Family-run farming for 271 years: Now they also make furniture
TV2 Fyn:
271-year-old family farm has hit gold vein with cabinet carpentry in the stable
The weekly newspaper Odense:
Tinka's bench sold: Auction goes uncut for Christmas brand home
Fyns Stiftidende:
Fun order: Kaerbygaard was to make furniture for Tinka
Wood-Supply:
See the pictures: Ungt carpentry race with this prestige task
The agricultural newspaper:
271-year-old family farm has hit gold vein with cabinet carpentry in the stable
Tree
Join Kaerbygaard for a walk in the woods and find out why our wooden furniture is special.
Unsurprisingly, it all starts in the woods
Kaerbygaard has been owned by the family since 1748. This means that we have a close relationship with many other farms that have forests. Therefore, we occasionally get the opportunity to select exactly the trees we want before commercial forestry takes over.
The majority of the wood we use comes mainly from our own or other Funen forests. But sometimes we also find different and exciting wood in limited quantities. This can be wood from old buildings, or wood that for various reasons is difficult to obtain.
In autumn 2017, we were incredibly lucky to find a large stockpile of Danish elm wood, which a farmer in South Jutland had cut down in connection with the elmesy 20 years back. You can read more about our carpentry furniture and plank tables on the front.
Sustainability
As we cut down trees in our own and other Funen forests, this requires us to use our resources wisely. Fortunately, in Denmark we are in the situation where more wood is currently being planted than is being felled.
At Kaerbygaard , when we cut down a tree, we plant two new ones so that the next generations can enjoy the forests too.
When making high-quality solid wood furniture, it is inevitable that there will be a lot of surplus wood. On the farm, the wood shavings and other remains from the joinery are enough to heat the showroom, workshop and warehouse throughout the year.
Good wood is good environment
When you cut down a tree and use it as furniture, it will act as a CO2 warehouse for many years to come. It is therefore generally good for the environment, nature and future generations to choose furniture of sustainable wood.
Quality
Solid wood furniture is a matter of trust
Solid wood furniture has high quality requirements and there are some fundamentals that need to be in place to ensure that the furniture will last for generations.
Solid wood furniture is very popular nowadays, and a lot is being made in different qualities. It is therefore important to
decide what you expect from the furniture and what it should cost.
At Kærbygård, we strive to produce furniture of the best quality on the market, which is why we are not the cheapest on the market.
We have these requirements when a piece of furniture is manufactured at Kærbygård:
1. Wood suitable for furniture is selected from the forest - the rest is chipped or burned.
2. The wood is properly air-dried with patience.
3. Kiln-dry wood for indoor use.
4. The wood is acclimatised before processing begins.
5. Furniture is manufactured in heated rooms by professionals.
6. Once finished, the furniture is stored in heated premises.
We encourage anyone looking for a solid wood piece of furniture to visit the workshop where it is made to avoid any unpleasant surprises. (Use the six points above as a checklist if you wish).
The stick that went through generations
At our open house on February 23, 2020, a couple came by with a Kaerbygaard cane that 6th generation "Peter" made in the 1930s.
Despite having been used for generations, the cane was in such customary good condition and quality a century later that the couple felt Kaerbygaard should have the practical treasure as a symbol of the high quality our name and wooden furniture stands for.
So when we say that we make products that can go through generations, we mean it!
Tusiden thanks to the couple who came by with both a cane and a good story.