Owning reclaimed wood can be a wonderful thing, especially if you want a piece that you know will stand the test of time. Trees like the Longleaf Pine, the American Chestnut, White Oak, Big Leaf Maple and Black Walnut are reclaimed frequently, and they are strong as an ox. These trees take 20 to 60 years to mature, and so it’s no wonder why high-end furniture makers are looking to reclaiming these old industrial woods.
Reclaimed lumber has been utilized to make flooring, furniture and cabinetry, as well as a number of other applications. The wood, in its previous life, may have been used to build homes, warehouses, barns, factories, or even to make architectural details on a building, and was reclaimed when it was salvaged from destruction and reused to make something new, such as reclaimed wood dining room tables or coffee tables. Reclaimed wood is more popular today because of the push to reuse our durable resources. That means wood is something we should salvage rather than simply discard.
Wood can be reused and forever revitalized. A well crafted, one-of-a-kind piece of furniture can be refinished to be given renewed life in your home, your child’s home, your grandchildren’s home and so on. Wood has the potential to be a sustainable resource because the trees used to make lumber are durable and customizable – they may take a while to mature, but once they are, they can last a very long time. One way to make furniture manufacturing a more sustainable action is to use reclaimed wood.
For modern furniture using the contemporary styling, the most popular woods are Maple, Beech and Walnut, and for more rustic looking finishes, the most frequently used woods are Poplar, Oak and Cherry, but of course this varies from maker to maker. In any case, quality furniture made from these woods can last several lifetimes. These pieces can be refinished if they start to get banged up or look lackluster. A quality furniture maker can do excellent quality refinishing and restoring of your older pieces, giving them a renewed life and the ability to brighten your home.
There are good Canadian furniture makers producing quality well crafted wood furnishings, many which have produced beautiful handcrafted furniture for decades, so if you’re on the lookout for a reclaimed wood piece of furniture, make sure you seek out an experienced craftsperson. Each one of a kind piece of reclaimed furniture produced by these makers is a custom piece, made to order, and you can have confidence in the furniture, because the maker usually guarantees the quality work on every piece it builds.
After decades of building fine furniture, your chosen furniture maker will have established themselves among the best wood furnishing handcrafters. These beautifully crafted, durable products will grace your home and that of generations to come. Buy a reclaimed wood piece and enjoy the graceful in your dining table or the swirling eyes disrupting the wavy lines in your coffee table.
