‘Old’, Reclaimed Furniture is the ‘New’ Thing

Reduce, reuse, and reclaim is the name of the game. In this ever-growing green design trend, one of the more appealing options in home design is using reclaimed wood for floors, furniture, countertops, stairs, and more. Reclaiming wood reduces the demand for deforestation needed to make new furniture while providing a quality, historical piece of furniture that tells a story in your home. Imagine having a dining room table from wood that was extracted from an 18th century barn and the stories it could tell!

Choosing to furnish your home with reused wood furniture provides vital environmental benefits such as reducing waste to be transported to landfills, the amount of chemicals needed to treat wood, and the energy spent prepping wood for use. Like good wine, wood improves with time. As the grain compresses and strengthens, the wood develops a natural patina or finish that adds an elegant touch to any home. Depending on the environment and wood type, the colors can run from a deep red to warm grey which doesn’t require a heavy chemical finish that normally would be applied to new wood surfaces. Despite the fact that reclaimed wood is older and reused, the quality can be significantly better than a new piece of furniture that was crafted from a healthy tree and chemically treated.

Since the majority of reclaimed wood comes from factories, houses, and barns that were built from slow growing forest trees, the wood is stronger and more robust. New wood furniture is made from second or third generation forests that haven’t had the proper time to grow and gain the strength seen in older furniture.

Guest Blog Post by Sue, My Internal Design