The kitchen is one of those rooms in the home that can easily lose its personality in favor of "cleaner" selections with slick surfaces. But it turns out that finishes with some age and character to them tend to make a space feel more personal.
We've been working on a kitchen renovation that uncovered a structural column smack dab in the center of our design. To incorporate the discovery into our scheme, we set vintage railroad ties on all sides of the concrete structure, and the gorgeous patina of the wood makes the eyesore melt away. We definitely enjoy bringing an old roughed-up wooden texture to add loads of life and color variation into the kitchen.
Images: 1. Lipstick on Your Teeth; 2. Livingetc; 3. the style files; 4. Atticmag; 5. Habitually Chic.
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I love the patina of weathered wood. Your look is fabulous. I recently purchased a 6 foot length of barn wood which is about 10 inches thick and I intend to make it into a coffee table with oversize industrial castors.
My dilemma is that the patina of the wood is so beautiful, 100 years of weathering has left it a stunning silver colour, I don't know if I should finish it.
I have wax polish, linseed oil, sanders, etc. I'm afraid it may end up not looking as good. Though it is a coffee table and will get lots of use.
Any words of wisdom are appreciated.
Love it, especially #3. I guess I wouldn't use a WHOLE lot... but it does look rather warm.
decide which side will be your table surface. then test your finishes on the underside. that way you can see what they would look like, and make a decision.
i personally wouldn't finish it.
I live in NYC want to make thick shelves out of reclaimed wood. Does anyone know any good sources for reclaimed wood??
One day when I actually have a kitchen to play around with, reclaimed wood is at the top of my list! I love photo #2.
I am LOVING reclaimed wood and I plan to make a dining room table out of it. Anyone know of good sources in Boston, as well?
Craig's list can be a good place to look for reclaimed wood. Ebay too. There's a lot of folks outside of cities that store it from old barns that they've torn down. A lot of times they want to sell the whole lot but you never know.
The look is nice, but I'd like to point out that all that wonderful "patina"... is dirt. Years and years of dirt. I don't have a problem with that for decorative wall treatments and so on, but I'd be a bit leery of using it for food prep or service, and even for decor, I'd prefer it be sealed in some way.
How to find reclaimed wood in your area? I have a resource for you: the Building Materials Reuse Association (BMRA).
I work at Community Forklift, a nonprofit thrift store for home improvement in the DC area. We belong to the BMRA, and they have a nationwide directory on their website that lists reuse stores like us, as well as deconstruction companies that actually take barns and houses down, and companies that mill old lumber into new uses. To find out what is close to you, go to http://bmra.org/listings/browse-by-state?sobi2Task=search
Although I am far from being a germaphobe, I agree somewhat with SherryBinNH. The rustic old table in the fourth pic - gorgeous, but I would get a lead test kit and make sure that distressed paint is not lead paint. And that first picture is beautiful too - but it looks like it's made out of wood from old pallets. In the course of ordinary use, pallets get covered with filth, dust, spilled liquids, food waste, chemicals, etc. So I would definitely seal those pallet planks in some way if it's close to food.
However, I do think reclaimed wood can be so warm and pretty that it is worth taking the extra precautions. Either have that reclaimed wood planed down or sealed with a nontoxic sealer on the surface that food will touch.
As for continuing to keep the wood surfaces clean, regular cleaning is possible. I know that I've seen instructions somewhere on ReNest about using salt to sterilize wood cutting boards.
--Ruthie@CommunityForklift
That first pic is a bit much....big ol' block of wood....looks like "cover" for somebody preparing for a western gun fight or something.
The other look quite lovely. I like the contrast with the stainless steel appliances and hardware....very nice.
The first one is beautiful on its own but I agree copelli21 its overwhelming that space.
If it was in a large space with super high ceilings like in an industrial loft then it would look hot.
I love the second picture it reminds me of my grandmother's kitchen in the south, minus the elle decor chic aspect of it and espresso machine. I could live in that kitchen.
The first room reminds me of the Seinfeld episode "The Nap" - where Jerry hires the contractor who built George's under-the-desk nap-at-work station to build cabinets in his open kitchen. These look as oppressive to me as Jerry's did. He eventually removed them.
@Phyllis
Your comment made my entire day. ROTFLMBO! I adore Seinfeld.
In the 70s my parents built our custom 5-bedroom Tudor with horizontally installed barn planks as the dining room walls. The chandelier was wrought iron, in a ring style that looked pretty medieval (one of the big decorating trends at the time). I didn't love all their decorating decisions but the dining room was pretty cool.
(Home was sold in the early 80s after my father passed).
I see those crates used as drawers in pic #3, and the first thing that came to mind was...
"SPLINTERS!"
skeemer118: here's part of it on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEZvWVlUY3E
does anyone know anything about the oven? i love it.
I recently found this site on the internet that we may be ordering a bunch for a restaurant: www.timelinewood.com
Authentic look and you can get any size you want. The cleanliness is what we needed because of the nearby food and spilling of drinks behind the bar.
I believe the oven you are talking about it is Aga. They are pretty amazing!
http://www.aga-ranges.com/cooking/
@bklynbaby:
M. Fine Lumber is Bushwick is supposed to be a good source. I haven't gotten over there myself as they're not open on weekends.
Please post if you find others!
Anyone interested in reclaimed custom cabinets, countertops etc. should contact Bob McGrath the owner of Rustique. He builds custom furniture using antique, reclaimed material. He is located in Maine and builds beautiful furnitre and cabinetry.
His website is www.antiquewoodcreations.com
Thanks,
Tom