As a gift
A gift that does not get put away.
Thirty inches of Canadian birch that spans the tub and holds a book, a glass and a candle. It is the kind of present someone uses on an ordinary Tuesday in February, months after the occasion it arrived for.
$150 CAD · Free shipping Canada-wide · Made in Canada
The board
The thing itself.
Photographed in the workshop rather than styled for a catalogue: a book held open, a tablet at eye level, the wine notch, and the box it arrives in.
Scroll the row sideways for more. Select a photo to open it larger.
Why it lands
The test of a gift is whether it is still out in a year.
It gets used, not shelved.
Most gifts in this price bracket are consumable or decorative — a nice bottle, a candle, a set of something. This one has a job, and it does it every time they run a bath. It stays where they can see it.
It is a real object from a small shop.
Cross-ply birch, cut and finished by hand in Alberta, with VOC- and solvent-free stains and sealants that are human, animal and plant safe. Made in Canada is a thing they can say to a guest who asks about it, which is quietly part of what you are giving.
It is specific without being risky.
It says you noticed how they actually spend an evening, which is what makes a present feel considered — but it is furniture for a bathroom, not clothing or jewellery, so it is not a bet on their taste.
Occasions
When people give it.
Roughly in the order we are asked about them. The board is the same board every time; what changes is why it is on the table.
- The most common one, by a distance. It works because it is the rare Mother’s Day gift that is about her having an hour to herself rather than about the house.
- A present that survives January, when most of them have been eaten or put in a drawer. Dark winter evenings are also when a bath stops being a summer indulgence and starts being the warmest room in the house.
- The bathroom is the room a new owner has not personalised yet, and it is the one nobody else is buying for. Better than a plant, and it does not need to match anything they have chosen.
- Two people, one tub, and a registry full of kitchenware. It reads as generous without being the fifth serving platter, and it is the sort of thing they would not think to ask for.
- Wood is the traditional fifth. We did not plan that and we are not going to pretend it is why we make them out of birch, but it has come up enough times that it is worth saying.
- Thirty, forty, fifty. An object that will still be in the bathroom at the next one, which is a better joke and a better present than something that will not.
- The gift and the message are the same thing here: the time is yours now. It is one of the few presents at a retirement do that is not a plaque.
- Quieter than flowers and it lasts longer than dinner. Two side trays, a candle holder and a notch for a glass, which is most of an evening.
What you are giving
A 30-inch birch bath board, made in Canada.
It spans the tub and holds what a person actually wants within reach: a book or a tablet propped in the groove, a candle in a draining tray, a glass in the bowled notch, salts and a cup of tea on the side trays. Slide-adjustable footers fit tubs 29 inches wide or less, and setup takes minutes with no tools.
It is cross-ply birch — layered, cross-directional grain that holds its shape in a humid bathroom better than solid timber does. It is real wood, so it ages and shows its use rather than staying pristine. That is usually the point, but it is worth knowing before you give it to someone who wants things to stay new.
- 30″ × 11.75″ × ¾″, 9.5 lbs. Fits standard, freestanding and clawfoot tubs up to 29″ wide
- Bowled wine-glass notch, 12″ tablet groove and backstand, two 4″ × 6″ side trays
- Draining candle and soap trays, loofah hook, incense holder
- VOC- and solvent-free stains and sealants, human, animal and plant safe
- FSC- and PEFC-certified timber, verified with supplier documentation
- Arrives boxed, with care notes and no-tools assembly hardware
Choosing a finish
Four finishes, and the safe one.
If you have seen their bathroom, pick the one you like. If you have not — and most people buying this as a gift have not been in there with a paint chip — Milk Birch is the one to choose. It is the birch itself, unstained and sealed, so it does not have to match anything.
There is a fifth finish in our specification — Raw, unstained and unsealed, for someone who wants to finish it themselves. It is not orderable at the moment, and raw boards are not returnable at all, so it makes a poor gift in any case.
From people who were given one
What they said.
“I got my Waverley Bath Board as a gift and it's the perfect upgrade to my bath time. It fits my tub nicely, and the birch grain is lovely.”
“I received my board for Mother’s Day, what a fantastic gift. I used it that night, and it came with everything I needed.”
“It's a solid fixture in my bathtub now. I use it basically every time I take a bath.”
Questions gift buyers ask
Will it fit their tub?
If the tub is 29 inches wide or less across the top and has a lip on each side for the board to rest on, yes — inset, shower-tub combo, clawfoot or freestanding. The footers slide to grip the walls. We cannot accept returns for fit, so measure if you possibly can, and email us if you cannot.
How long will it take to arrive?
Boards we have finished ship as soon as you order, and transit within Canada is usually a few days. If we have to make a run it is about two weeks in the shop first. We do not publish a delivery-date promise, because one small shop makes these and we would rather give you a real answer by email than a comfortable one on a page.
Can you ship it straight to them?
Yes. Put their address in as the shipping address, and tell us it is a gift so we leave the invoice out of the box.
Is there gift wrap or a gift message?
Not yet. The board arrives in its own box with care notes — presentable, but not wrapped, and there is no card. We are not going to pretend otherwise on the page you are reading before you buy.
Can I have it engraved?
Not yet. Engraving is something we are working towards and it is not running, for anybody. Email us if it matters to you and we will tell you where it actually is.
Which finish should I pick if I have never seen their bathroom?
Milk Birch. It is unstained birch with a clear seal, so it is the one that does not have to match anything. Cognac, Havana and Plum are the stained finishes, and they are the better choice when you know the room.
What if they do not like it?
Then we would rather hear about it than not. Our formal policy is narrow — 7 days from delivery for reasonable and noticeable defects, and never for fit — because this is a personal bath product and a natural material. But email us and tell us what happened; we are small enough to talk about it.
Is the finish safe around children and pets?
The stains and sealants we use are VOC- and solvent-free and are human, animal and plant safe. There is nothing in what goes on the wood to off-gas into a warm, closed bathroom. It is a bath board, though, not a toy or a step — it is not made to be stood on or sat on.
Can I send one outside Canada?
Not yet. We ship within Canada only. US shipping is planned and is not active, and we have no fulfilment partner for it, so we are not taking orders we cannot fill.
Give them something that stays out.
One board, four finishes, shipped anywhere in Canada. If you are stuck on the tub or on the timing, email us before you order rather than after — that is the part we can actually help with.
We reply within 1–2 business days.
