In recent years, reclaimed wood has steadily grown in popularity for use in the manufacturing of
furniture, flooring, and architectural details for the twenty-first century home. Many present-day home interiors are designed using a mix of styles, making it easier to incorporate some of the rich, unique woods that are salvaged from a number of interesting places. Whether the wood is taken from old buildings or boats, designers and architects take great delight in using this vintage look as a compliment to many modern styles.
With an understanding of the history of the timber business, it is easy to appreciate why there is such an appeal for reclaimed wood. When the North American forests were first harvested for wood, the trees were already several hundred years old. These mature trees had the time to develop “heart wood,” the dense, dark wood in the center of the tree, desired for its rich colors and unique textures, characteristics that have since proven non-replicable. Not only was it more beautiful, the wood produced from the hearts of these massive old timbers was harder, stronger, and denser than anything gathered since.
Beyond beauty and sustainability, there are a number of other advantages to using recycled lumber. Commonly sighted qualities by manufacturers are stability, durability and hardness. Another practical advantage to reclaimed wood is the exposure it has had to changes in humidity; unlike freshly cut wood, it has been expanding and contracting for several hundred years. But personally, the most intriguing reason I kept hearing for using reclaimed wood, is that many salvagers of antique lumber find the history fascinating and lean towards its use for that reason alone.
Old barn wood is perhaps the most popular form of recycled wood in the United States. Using salvaged barn beams, which have been chopped or sawed by hand, is a popular architectural detail effortlessly incorporated into many great rooms, hearth rooms, and kitchens. Barn boards and beams are easily at home in both sophisticated and rustic settings.
Consumers are finally beginning to appreciate the beauty found in recycled lumber taken from structures like old mills and abandoned warehouses. It has become fashionable, as well as environmentally-friendly, to use this reclaimed product in furniture-making and home decor. What we have learned from this eco-friendly generation is that any time we can recycle a product it only helps the overall environment. Using reclaimed wood is steadily becoming as common as throwing a plastic bottle into a recycling bin.
