George Ramos creates beautiful kitchens and built-ins from reclaimed wood (whenever possible). So when it came time for this cabinet maker to make his own kitchen, it's only natural that it would be a standout project: cabinets from reclaimed Douglas fir and socially conscious sourced mahogany counters. The results are stunning.
George's personal kitchen is made from non-urea formaldehyde added plywood and 100% reclaimed Douglas fir doors, drawer fronts and face-frames. The counter tops are African mahogany, and while they're not reclaimed, they are from source where the local economy benefits from the sale of the lumber. Much of the glass in the cabinet doors are also reclaimed.
George's typical projects are craftsman kitchens. He follows the cues of the specific home for which he's building and enjoys designing the cabinets to appear as though they were always there. With his background in art and design, his goal is to become the resource for redesigning an installing built-in furniture that fit the gorgeous period homes of Portland, OR where he calls home.
For more projects, visit his website at George Ramos Woodworking.
(Images used with permission by George Ramos)
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We hear a lot about using reclaimed materials but i've found that its a bit hard to find sources, or affordable sources, for reclaimed materials. aside from the usual suspects of craigslist, restore, etc., where does someone source this stuff from at an affordable cost? personally, i would think that reclaimed material is cheaper but i have actually found this to not be true, sadly.
this kitchen is 100% gorgeous, especially that lovely countertop. i'm curious though, is it a practical idea to have wooden countertops in a kitchen?
my thoughts exactly, xsimpletunx. i would love to use reclaimed wood for re-flooring my new house, but i haven't been able to find anything affordable and readily accessible, unfortunately.
ps. actually, i'm also wondering about the wood floors...is that a good idea? i'm dying to know, cause i would love, love, love to have a kitchen like this, but i've heard conflicting advice about the practicality of wood in a kitchen environment, where water/oil/food might be flying around.
...so confused! :(
You should look into working with the company PlanetReuse which specializes in tracking down reclaimed materials. Hopefully this helps! http://www.planetreuse.com/
xsimpletunx and dragonfish227, here in Australia when you're looking for wooden architectural things to reuse like windowframes, doors, floorboards and so on, you go to a salvage yard. Builders sell these things (as well as old sinks, baths etc) when they've removed them from a renovation or demolition, the salvage yard sorts and *sometimes* cleans up the things, and you as a renovator or builder can go and buy what you want really cheaply. The only thing is that generally you have to do the work of getting whatever it is into a usable condition (cleaning, sanding). Don't salvage yards exist in the US too?
Yeah, full on salvage yards are the best and not every locality has them. Up in Seattle we have Second Use, if you have a truck and the free time their website is VERY well maintained and they are a great resource.
Thanks for the tips, guys! Very much appreciated :)))
I guess it does come down to being dedicated enough to find those salvage yards, lumberyards, etc., pick the stuff you want to use, and have it tailored to your needs...I found a couple places in the LA area:
districtmillworks.com
www.eandkwood.com
I meant to say this before, but again to xsimpletunx and dragonfish227: If you're expecting reclaimed wood to be cheaper than new, you're probably always going to be disappointed. A lot more labour needs to go into reclaimed wood than the labour involved in making new wooden architectural products. The latter can easily be churned out at a high speed because the wood is selected for its uniformity. If you want reclaimed floorboards someone has to do the work of sourcing, sorting, de-nailing, sanding, and cutting the boards to a uniform length. (My partner used to work for a small reclaimed timber company.) As to whether it's not affordable, that really depends on what you decide you're willing to pay for. A sustainable re-use of resources in an industry (the renovating/home-improvement industry) that is already incredibly wasteful? Or would you rather save some money and contribute more waste?
This kitchen is stunning! I wanted a touch of the reclaimed wood look in my kitchen and found great custom made tables.
Vermont Farm Table makes furniture from reclaimed woods using non-toxic, low VOC, oil finishes. Their materials are sourced from old barns throughout New England. Great eco-friendly furniture!
https://www.vermontfarmtable.com/