Enhancing homes using wood as features pieces in the home has been stylists’ and homeowners’ dream for quite a long time. Time and time again, we see wood accents used in almost every style of interior design. From modern looks to vintage-inspired home decor, many feature wood accents. Using reclaimed wood in your home as an accent piece offers the ability to customize your home and elevate your space. There are many opportunities to use reclaimed wood in your home or cottage, including being used for mantles, accent walls, faux or structural beams, furniture pieces, and more.
Mantles
Reclaimed wood mantles are timeless and offer character to whatever interior style existing in the space. Mantles use reclaimed beams, typically Hemlock, Pine, or Douglas Fir. Occasionally, hardwoods are used as well. The majority of what wood beams are offered depends on what the barn that they were reclaimed from was using structurally. For more details on this, check out our blog on Douglas Fir.
Accent Walls
Reclaimed wood offers perfect opportunity to create a dreamy accent wall. We use the wood reclaimed from barns, typically from the walls to create perfect accent walls. This can be done by using Reclaimed Hemlock Barn Board or Grey Board depending on your desired finished look. The accent wall material is typically thinner than what is used for flooring, but does not suffer in quality. Additionally, accent walls can be done as tongue and groove or shiplap. Customizable features helps to develop the perfect look for your space.
Beams
Having exposed beams is a timeless look that we’ve started to see becoming more and more popular. While it’s always special to have the exposed beam look with them being true structural beams, we can certainly get the same look without needing them to be structural.
Structural Beams
If structural beams are desired, consider using a reclaimed beam. Not only does it offer a unique style to a home or cottage, it carries immense heritage with it as well. Some of the reclaimed barns that Nostalgic Wood has available are close to, or more than, a century old. Additionally, we can assist in the erection a structure, like one of our reclaimed barns, to create your ideal building.
Faux Beams
Having faux beams doesn’t mean that the beams themselves aren’t real wood. Actually, it usually means that it is non-structural; they are not integral to the building standing. They are a cosmetic look that can give the look and feel of having actual structural beams. If faux beams are the direction for your project, there are many options to be able to get the desired final look.
Cladding
Cladding is a great option to cover ridge beams; cladding effectively creates ‘caps’ that cover the construction structural part, like a ridge beam, but give the look as if you had true, exposed, structural beams. Reclaimed beams can also be affixed to ceiling structures to give the look of exposed beam. To finish off the look, we often recommend getting a faux top plate that you would often see in a barn, offering support and termination points for the rafters.
Either option can get that dreamy, exposed beam look that perfectly warms a space. We have numerous beam options for either structural or faux looks. Again, the types of woods for beams vary based on the individual farm in which they originated. There are many beautiful options for the types of wood, which allows a completely custom look. Since wood ages differently based on its environment, exposure to elements, time, location and stage of harvest, etc. it is nearly impossible to have identical beams. The patina in the beams comes from decades of aging and cannot be mass produced.
Furniture
Perhaps your space doesn’t have the room or isn’t calling for more structural accent pieces, like walls, mantles or beams. There is always the option to have reclaimed wood furniture. Regardless of how large a space is, there is always room for reclaimed wood furniture. Since it is completely customized, there is the ability to tailor it exactly for a space. Particularly, we can help design obscure table shapes, shelving, small coffee or console tables, etc. that will fit perfectly in the space. What’s more, this options offers any type of wood we have in Ontario. Beautiful furniture pieces can be made from Ash, Maple, Elm, Beech, Hemlock, and more.
Barn Doors
Another option that has returned in recent years is the use of barn-doors. One of the advantages to barn-door doorways is that it is an efficient use of space, especially for areas where swinging doors are less practical. Barn doors are a perfect way to incorporate reclaimed wood into a space, for a space-saving, functional and beautiful look for any room. Barn doors are made custom to your space, and take into account the exact size of the door opening. There are a few different styles that can be selected to help truly reflect individuality in the space.
Stair Treads
Another reclaimed wood feature piece is reclaimed wood stair treads. This is a fantastic option to compliment a reclaimed wood floor. While the majority of our stair treads have been featured as open stairs, where you can see the top and the underside of the treads, we have had clients also use them on black steel stairs. Both options, or whatever your vision calls for, will be enhanced by the reclaimed steps. These stair treads are customized to the size of treads that are needed for the space. Stair treads can vary anywhere from 9” to 17”. Similarly to flooring, these treads can be finished and installed on site alongside your reclaimed flooring.
Half Wall Caps
Finally, half walls in themselves can be interesting feature pieces. These might be part of a room partition, or at the top of a set of stairs, in lieu of a railing running across the top. As a feature piece or a complimenting piece to your flooring, this can be a great way to tie in the entire space. Similar in style to stair treads, are typically finished and installed on site along with your reclaimed floor.
Reclaimed wood can enhance and elevate any space in any application. Reclaimed wood can be a beautiful accent to any style of room, whether modern, bohemian, etc. There are many ways that reclaimed wood can be integrated into a space, regardless of footprint size.