Reclaimed Wood TOP 4 USES FOR
So you’ve got some reclaimed wood: Now what do you plan to do with it? Here are a few ideas to get things going.
1. SHELVES. The easiest way to use reclaimed wood pieces is to convert them into cool, distinctive shelves. Used well, scrap wood shelves can be conversation pieces all on their own.
2. “SCRAP” FURNITURE. If you know a carpenter or feel confident doing a little carpentry yourself, try turning your reclaimed wood into furniture. Coffee tables or side tables, because of their relative simplicity, are particularly good projects for amateur furniture-makers. 3. FLOORS. Use reclaimed wood in your floors, which can go a long way toward making new spaces feel lived-in and antique. There are many types of reclaimed wood flooring on the market, so you can pick the hue and materials that will best suit your home’s style.
4. RECLAIMED WOOD WALL. This is a great DIY project for pallet wood. Pick a wall and start nailing down boards. You’d be amazed at the sort of character a bold wall made of reclaimed wood can impart to a home.
The value of
reclaimed wood’s history, as well as its sustainability as a material, is intangible.
RECLAMATION
Sources of reclaimed wood are wide ranging, including barns, old houses and apartments, industrial buildings and even antique wooden tanks (like water tanks, wine barrels or kegs). At the professional level, reclaimed wood goes through an exhaustive 10-step process that begins with “the removal of nails, of layers of dirt and dust, and maybe of paint,” Solomon and Armster write. Afterwards, the wood is shipped to its next destination.
HISTORY
The authors write that, to dealers of new lumber in the early 1900s, “old wood was both respected and a nuisance.”The process of salvaging wood has existed for many years, but the “secondhand”stigma of old wood prevented it from becoming trendy until the 1960s. Today, when you buy new wood, it likely comes from a tree farm or plantation rather than the old-growth forests that were plundered in the past. This is great news for the environment, but has its design downsides: Plantation-grown wood is not always of the same quality as the sturdy heartwood that came from old-growth sources, and it often lacks the character of antique wood.
DESIGNING
When designing a room using reclaimed wood, it’s important to think about the material’s context. Reclaimed wood is a piece of history, “intimately connected to historical context and the genius loci, or the spirit of a place,” write the authors. The value of reclaimed wood’s history, as well as its sustainability as a material, is intangible, but central to understanding its appeal. Put the design focus on unique materials like these in order to simplify other design aspects: For example, a room with a reclaimed hardwood floor as the focus won’t need as much furniture. The texture and raw size of reclaimed wood allows for several different applications in a single space, such as in the floor, on exposed ceiling beams or on the side of the kitchen island.