If you’re interested in using reclaimed wood for your home, check out this article by Richard Lawson in today’s edition of the DeKalb County Times:  Reclaiming Barns a Board at a Time.

Here’s the skinny on it:

Barn wood is the greatest source of reclaimed wood out there, for use in home restoration, remodeling and new construction.  It can be used to make flooring, furniture, mantels, countertops and other decorative elements of the house.  (For more on that, check out my blog What’s not to love about reclaimed wood?)

Jason Neusse, a recent transplant from Copenhagen and the main feature in the article, is now in the business full-time dismantling Tennessee barns and selling them to folks.  Look him up in McMinnville,TN,  if you are thinking of building or renovating using reclaimed wood.  My clients have used it for hardwood floors, fireplace mantels and stairs.

Another great source of reclaimed lumber is sticktrade.com.  Neusse sells to this online wholesale clearing house as well.

And finally, the Tennessee Barn Project has an incredible website which features everything from furniture to reclaimed wood species in stock.  They even have an estore on Etsy!

The DeKalb County Times costs a dollar to read today, and you can’t print it (I would have – and scanned it for you! – if I could) but I highly recommend it for anyone with a serious interest in reclaiming wood for their own abode.  Hats off to Richard Lawson for an excellent piece!

There is nothing better than feeling like you’re reconnecting with history,

doing good for the environment,

supporting local craftspeople,

and creating beauty and romance at the same time.

That’s why I’m in love with reclaimed wood.  The good news is it’s more abundant every day, as its market grows in leaps and bounds.  Below are a few good picks.

The driftwood-like table top.  Simple, yet oh so romantic.  Pair it with rustic slab-benches, and some great white china (oh, and of course a crystal chandelier for subtle glam), and you’re good to go.

The coffee table.  This one has vintage turquoise painted boards and some shells on top, for a beachy feel.  Love the rivets…..

Reclaimed wood feature walls are a classic way to warm up modern style interiors…..

…..or an eclectic mix of styles…..

Love the surprise element of this fat wall above, with a slot in it, making it a counter/pass through/room divider for a kitchen.  Extra double eco-points for its multifunctionality.  Love the way it respects the vintage paneled ceiling above.

Reclaimed wood can act as a gorgeous minimalist sculptural element for a stair (love the rivets, again)…..

Sculptural  even when it is sandwiched between walls.  You can really experience the character of the wood when framed thus…..

Here is a fun reclaimed wood pendant light.  Wonder how it looks when on at night?

The floor.  Working on this eco-chic home is how I got the bug in the first place.

Reclaimed wood flooring can give a new home  instant character and charm.

This utterly “spa” reclaimed wood bath counter totally draws you in, and is the all the drama you need surrounded by cool gray concrete walls and floor.  Love the “leaf-like” shapes of the sink bowls.

A reclaimed headboard – which would be easy to make (or have made)…..

And another way to get “headboard” out of it:  Serving as the dramatic, yet warm and cozy backdrop to this vintage wrought iron bed…..

…..something to put on my own wish list…..

Enjoy…..

1)  Via etsy.com

2)  Via caragreen.com

3)  Via extremehowto.com

4)  Anthropologie reclaimed wood console, image via themarionhousebook.com

5)  Via athome.kimvalee.com

6)  Via inhabitat.com

7)  Via 1.bp.blogspot.com

8)  Via vi.sualize.us

9)  Via reclaimed-brentnorman.blogspot.com

10)  Via flickr.com

11)  Via remodelista.com

12)  Guilbeau Baird photo archive

13)  Via greenecoservices.com

14)  Via auntielolocrafts.blogspot.com

15)  Via designspongeonline.com