Today we are talking about reclaimed wood furniture. While there’s absolutely nothing wrong with purchasing pre-made furniture or flat-pack options from retailers like IKEA. Sometimes homeowners would like something a little more special. In these cases, going to a carpenter or using reclaimed wood furniture holds a special appeal. As it offers a sense of history and character that newer materials often lack.
For example, this might include a coffee table made from the beams of an old barn or a bed frame crafted from salvaged timber. If you’re lucky, it might even have a real story behind it, like fashioning a front door from your home that used to be an old door for a local church.
The idea of repurposing wood, keeping its natural beauty, and being sustainable thanks to that is appealing for obvious reasons.
Yet, while reclaimed wood has its charm, it also presents certain considerations that aren’t always immediately obvious. For example, reclaimed wood can come with certain imperfections, inconsistencies, and a history that can sometimes complicate the process of turning it into a beautiful piece of furniture. It’s wise to be prepared for that, despite the “trend” it might have online making the process seem easy.
So, let’s help you manage your reclaimed wood with more confidence:
Each Piece Has Its Character
Reclaimed wood has real character, and it brings to that to any furniture you fashion. Each piece will generally have its knots, grain patterns, and weathered surfaces. It’s unlikely to be formatted perfectly like modern processed options.
However, this character comes with imperfections sometimes, and that can include prior nail holes, cracks, and even remnants of old screws and efixings worth replacing. While these add to the charm for the most part, they can also require careful attention during the crafting process to ensure the final piece is both aesthetically appropriate and functional. In other words, the raw material brings its own personality to the final product and isn’t solely shaped by your taste.
Reclaimed Wood Can Vary In Quality In Style
Reclaimed wood is rarely uniform like flat-packed furniture is. Its age, previous use, and exposure to the elements will almost certainly result in different colours, textures, and strengths. Carpenters do a good job reworking it, but this unpredictability can sometimes make it challenging to create a cohesive piece of furniture, as matching planks might be difficult to find. There may only be a certain amount of “usable” wood in that prior church door we mentioned, for instance.
Moreover, the wood’s history might leave it prone to splitting or warping, requiring extra care in selection and assembly or long-term maintenance and care. If you’re willing to embrace this reality, you’ll likely have no problem. But it’s a reality to appreciate regardless.
Understanding Treatment
So, it’s worth talking about treatments as we mentioned before. Keep in mind that wood won’t just be reshaped, but cleaned, dried, and treated for pests to ensure it’s suitable for indoor use. This process can be more time-consuming than anticipated and might require special knowledge or tools – so in other words, a carpenter might take months on your piece, not a week. You may also need to sand, and apply wood and oil protections after some time to maintain the wood. A custom kitchen surface might need this, requiring ventilation in your kitchen. Understanding that can help you truly know what you’re getting into.
If you’re willing to handle all this, we’re certain you’ll take pride in your wonderful reclaimed wood piece!