Whether you need wood for flooring, millwork, furniture, fireplace mantels or exposed beams, you can add instant character to your home by installing reclaimed and restored lumber.  These antique pieces of wood, some species no longer available, are very strong and stable.  This wood is typically sourced from historic buildings, barns, factories and mills.

We can conserve our precious natural resources by utilizing reclaimed wood and reducing our demand for newly milled wood products.

You’ll find rich Chestnut, Heart Pine, Rock Elm, Oak, Hickory, Heart Cypress and other hardwoods that’ll transform your living spaces into extraordinary rooms.

To maintain the earth-friendly quality of the wood, have it finished with low-VOC or no-VOC (harmful volatile organic compounds) products.  It’ll also keep your indoor air quality clean.

The following companies offer reclaimed wood products, some re-milled and ready-to-go.  I’ve included the state the company originates from, but most service other areas as well.

• Elmwood Reclaimed Timber, Missouri, not only offers cabinet lumber, flooring and beams (pictured above), but also countertops, tabletops and stair parts.
• Green Waste Recycle Yard, California, diverts local urban woods (not antique wood) from landfills and transforms them into dimensional lumber, flooring, table tops, countertops, landscape timbers, mulches and biomass fuels.
• Morningside Reclaimed Woods, Pennsylvania, supplies beautiful high quality old growth lumber, weathered reclaimed barn wood, wide plank flooring, paneling, trim and beams throughout the east coast.
• Mountain Lumber Company, Virginia, offers beautifully crafted lumber that has been de-nailed, sawn, kiln dried and pre-finished (pictured here).
• Superior Hardwoods and Millwork, Montana, offers hand-hewn timbers, lumber, flooring and decking.

Find other reclaimed wood companies in my previous post on the subject.

Looking to create a new garden path or walkway through your yard?  There are several earth-friendly materials to choose from which will add instant charm to your property.  You can create elaborate or simple designs with these materials too.  Another sustainable characteristic of the following path materials is that they are permeable and allow rainwater to filter through into the ground below to recharge aquifers.

• WOOD CHIPS from downed trees/branches can be applied in a thick (~3″) layer for a completely natural pathway.  (Tip:  This pathway can be installed directly over grass by covering the ground with a layer of newspapers before adding the chips.  This will kill the grass and prevent weeds from popping through).
• PINE NEEDLES make another great natural path, especially if you have a lot of pine trees on your property.
• MOSS can actually be used for lightly-treaded pathways through moist and shady wooded areas.  It feels like a luxurious velvet rug underfoot!  Be careful though as it can be a little slick to walk on sometimes.
• TUMBLED, RECYCLED GLASS comes in numerous colors and adds fun & sparkle to any space.  See my previous post here about this cool product.
• RECLAIMED BRICK, COBBLESTONE or FLAGSTONE gives an established, aged feel to even the newest of landscape installations.
• NATURAL GRAVEL occurs in pebble-size pieces, and is not quarried and crushed with fossil-fuel-burning machines.
• RECYCLED, CRUSHED BRICK, LIMESTONE or GRANITE can be used in formal or informal settings.  If you find it from locally-mined sources, the environmental impact is lessened.  However, the pollution generated from the crushing machines is something to be considered.

photo of wood chip path by McD22

I have been amazed by the array of recycled glass objects (vases, pitchers, wall art, ornaments, home accessories, cheese plates, sculptures, lighting, even jewelry) that look like beautiful pieces of art.  Sometimes the new objects retain the character of the original glass bottles, while other times, the glass has been melted down to reveal completely new forms.

These handcrafted works of art add a touch of whimsy and a shimmer of light to any decor.

• Ideas on Legs (pictured here):  Afton, Virginia
• Melting Grounds:  Portland, Oregon
• Reborn Glass:  Cape Coral, Florida
• Wolf Art Glass:  Austin, Texas

Tumbled recycled glass can also be used out of doors in fire-pits, fountains, fish ponds, pathways and as colorful mulch!  Read my earlier post here about the many uses in the landscape.

Strawbale construction has been successfully used for centuries, and many of these durable structures are still standing today.  It certainly makes more sense to utilize this agricultural waste by-product than to burn it and pollute the air, as in the traditional method of disposal.

Straw-bale houses are indeed comprised of straw and are actually very dense and strong, even in earthquake territory. They can be built just about anywhere, except perhaps in areas of high humidity and excessive rain.  There are numerous advantages of straw-bale construction, including:   constructive use of a renewable resource, high energy efficiency and fire resistance, flexibility to be load-bearing or non-load bearing (as insulative infill), quick and fairly easy assembly, and of course aesthetics.

Typically, strawbale houses have 2′ thick walls and are situated on an east-west axis to capture passive solar energy from south-facing windows.  Thermal mass features are usually included as well.  Mr. Seigel’s 1200 square foot creation not only utilizes passive solar energy, but takes advantage of meadow views through two reverse shed dormers.  The house is actually divided into two sections so as to allow one to see just what this cool abode is constructed of.  This “dogtrot” space also promotes natural ventilation throughout the entire house without the use of a mechanical cooling system.

See photos and floor plans  here.

If you’re looking for something special to spruce up your home or garden, recycled metal sculptures offer artistic flair combined with eco-friendliness.  These individual artists create one-of-a-kind works of art, most of which are even functional:

• Experienced Materials is the place to find whimsical rain chains, mobiles, sconces, art panels and screen door panels crafted by Gina Nash.
• Leo Razzi reclaims wrought iron, scrap metal and other materials to create his masterpieces of gates, door knockers, benches (like the one pictured here), wall art and window boxes.
• The unique birds, dogs, dinosaurs, other creatures and abstract pieces that artist Erik at Recycled Metal Sculptures handcrafts are amazing.

In Part I of this series on eco-friendly outdoor furniture, I focused on those made with reclaimed wine barrels and other sustainable woods.  Here, innovative creations made from recycled skis, snowboards and HDPE plastic are highlighted.

1. Green Mountain Ski Furniture out of Waterbury Center, Vermont, offers an extensive line of durable outdoor furnishings.  They accept donated skis and boards and will create a custom piece just for you from your very own equipment.
2. Reeski, based in Aspen, Colorado, recycles about 12,000 pounds of skis and snowboards annually to create cool picnic tables, Adirondack chairs and benches.  They offer custom-made products too.
3. Vermont Ski Recyclers out of Morrisville, Vermont, also saves tons of industry discards from becoming solid waste.  Their line includes tables, chairs, barstools, even a settee!
4. Made-in-the-USA, the mod recycled plastic furnishings that Loll Designs creates are durable, easy-to-care-for and stylish. (pictured here).
5. Recycled milk jugs and detergent bottles are used to make the wide assortment of furniture that Poly-Wood, Inc. offers. Classic Adirondack chairs, benches, rockers, and tables are available in many color choices.

Looking for some artful, yet functional pieces to spruce up your backyard this summer?  In this particular post in my series of earth-friendly outdoor furniture, I’ll focus on cool collections made from reclaimed winebarrels, watertanks and barnwood.  Other options include FSC-certified furniture where the wood is harvested from well-managed forests.  From patio dining sets to Adirondack chairs, you’ll find a wide array of outdoor furnishings made from eco-friendly materials.

• Northern California’s Whit McLeod Handcrafted Furniture creates Arts and Crafts style masterpieces, like the bench pictured here, from salvaged wood.
• Reforest Teak offers a unique collection of outdoor furnishings made from sustainably-harvested teak.
• Tennessee-based 11th Hour Furniture specializes in hand-crafted, custom-made furniture for the home and garden.  They use FSC-certified reclaimed and local woods finished with eco-friendly stains.
• Rocky Mountain Cabin Decor features a wide assortment of amazing outdoor furniture and accessories made from reclaimed barnwood and other interesting woods.
• For a list of resources for wonderful wine barrel furniture suitable for the outdoors too, see my earlier post here.

Love the feeling of warmth and sunshine that emanates from the Napa Valley and other wine-producing regions?  One way to bring that sensation home is to incorporate furniture made from reclaimed wine barrels.  The barrels are typically made from the finest oak trees and are free from knots and defects.  During the course of many years in the wine-making process, the oak barrels absorb the deep, rich color of the wine.  The end product is perfectly-aged wood that beautifully accents kitchens, wine cellars and even outdoor spaces.

Whether you’re searching for tables, chairs, a wine rack or other accents/accessories, benches, planters, or even a guitar stand, you can find unique pieces handcrafted from wine barrel wood.  The artists at these small companies are sure to impress you with their artful work:

• WineBarrelFurniture
• Wine Barrel Furniture and Things
• Wine Garden Designs (pictured here)
• Wine Barrel Creations

Straw, a waste by-product of, most notably, the wheat industry has been gaining in popularity for use in the green building industry, and for good reason.   It’s long been an environmental issue to dispose of straw, the remaining by-product of wheat grain after it is harvested.  Typically, it has been burned which causes serious air pollution problems.

Here’s where eco-friendly strawboard panels come in. They can replace gypsum drywall which consumes much more energy to produce.  The studs aren’t even needed in some interior partition walls with these highly compressed straw panels!   Other applications include:  interior and exterior walls, load and non-bearing ceilings, roofing, doors, and flooring.  Also, since wheat is grown in the U.S. and around the world every year for food, it is a rapidly renewable resource.

Key features of strawboard panels include: affordability and reduction of sound transmission.  Plus, they’re also fire-, termite-, mold-, and impact-resistant.  Strawboard is similar to wood and can be sawn, drilled, routed, nailed, screwed, and glued.

Two companies manufacture strawboard panels here in the U.S.:

• Enviro Board Corp. of Sacramento, CA.
• Durra Building Systems, based in Whitewright, Texas.
• A similar product called  BIOFIBER™ wheat panels, made by Environ BioComposite, can be used for interior applications such as table surfaces, cabinetry, furniture, and decorative & architectural applications.

Source:  Toolbase.org

Whether you’re building new, or simply replacing common, cheap and, likely, damaged hollow-core doors in your existing home, there are green options to consider.  Whether your home’s style is contemporary or traditional, you can add instant character by adding solid-wood interior doors made from reclaimed wood, FSC-certified wood, recycled content or rapidly renewable resources.   A great resource for antique/old doors in need of restoration is architectural salvage yards, where refinishing is sometimes an option.

Here’s more about reclaimed wood doors:

Reclaimed wood: Most reclaimed timber was originally sawn from old growth trees which were much larger, older and had tighter growth rings than trees cut today. When that wood is re-milled and re-finished, it provides rich colors and exceptional beauty, generally not available from today’s timber. The price of these doors may be about twice the price of stock doors you’ll find at big box retailers, but the quality and character are unsurpassed.

• California-based Liberty Valley Doors offers a Rediscovered Wood Door collection of new, unfinished doors constructed of 100% reclaimed wood, mainly Douglas Fir beams, joists and timbers. Doors are sanded, ready for finishing. Designs include 1-, 2- or 3-panel layout, with or without arches (pre-finishing is available).
• Crossroads Recycled Lumber offers custom-crafted doors from wood grown, harvested, manufactured, salvaged and re-manufactured in the USA.  The Douglas Fir, Redwood, and Western Red Cedar doors are all made in its North Fork, California facility.
• Albany Woodworks, of Albany, Louisiana custom crafts fine doors from antique heart cypress and antique heart pine.
• Alternative Timber Structures, of Tetonia, Idaho offers a beautiful line of custom doors from reclaimed Fir, Cypress, Oak, Cedar, and Redwood, all assembled using mortise, tenon and pegging.
• Pine Door Company, located in Montana, retains the rich character and time-worn look of reclaimed barn wood in its handcrafted doors.