But reusing old wood in new ways -- whether fashioning railway ties into flooring or old pickle barrels into a bed -- is enjoying a renewed vogue among homeowners weary of generic looks and worried about the environment.
Many "start out to be funky, and then it goes green on them, and that speaks to them," says Mark Nash, a Chicago real estate agent, author and promulgator of a popular annual What's In, What's Out with Homebuyers survey. "It's one of the small things people can do and be proud of."
Reclaimed wood, as industry insiders call it, can offer other advantages besides quirky charm and planet-friendliness points. A weathered plank from an old bridge isn't likely to shrink and settle in today's floor. A century-old warehouse beam was probably cut from an old-growth tree, harder and tighter-grained than modern forestry can match.
And when the coffee table proudly displays the gnarls and wrinkles of the barn board it once was, what's a little household wear and tear?
"It's become the antique of the future," says Annette K. Stelmack, a Louisville, Colo.-based interior designer and a co-author of Sustainable Residential Interiors (John Wiley Sons, 2006).
Some examples:
Timber block stool from VivaTerra; www.vivaterra.com
Pig platters from NapaStyle; www.napastyle.com
Hand-painted barn wood table from Cottage Home; www.cottagehomemaine.com
Celtic spirals shield from Celtic Viking Furniture; www.celticvikingfurniture.com/
Jungle mix flooring from TerraMai; www.terramai.com/
Root of the earth bowl from VivaTerra; www.vivaterra.com
Rd stool from SMC Furnishings; www.spacemfrs.com/
Recycled pickle barrel bed from Sundance Catalog; www.sundancecatalog.com
Rattan stackable cabinets from Tucker Robbins; www.tuckerrobins.com
Gable end mirror from Sundance Catalog; www.sundancecatalog.com
--Associated Press
