With the returning popularity of wood countertops, some people are considering using reclaimed wood to follow sustainable design principles. I recently received an email from Shannon Benton at Craft-Art about the eight new reclaimed wood countertop options the company is offering. Craft-Art is recycling wood from old mills, barns, river bottoms, pickle vats and swamps from the 1800s and 1900s for this new series. The wood options include Antique Heart Pine, Sinker Cypress, Antique White Oak, Pickle Vat Redwood (photo below), Barn Red Oak, Barn White Oak, American Chestnut and Tobacco Barn Beech. “We want to help build environmentally friendly homes," said Ken Williamson, founder and CEO of the Craft-Art Company, Inc. "Wood is a renewable resource and we use a number of different wood species for our custom countertops. Our latest offering, though, is to reuse and preserve this beautiful resource by creating custom wood countertops from reclaimed wood sources." (Continue reading after the photo.)
In addition, Shannon shared with me that while Craft-Art will order Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood if the consumer requests it, the woodmakers at the company feel that reclaimed wood is much more plentiful and affordable. Formed in 1993, the FSC was created to change the dialogue about and the practice of sustainable forestry worldwide. The FSC standards represent the world’s strongest system for guiding forest management toward sustainable outcomes and have now been applied in more than 57 countries around the world. FSC certifies forests that meet their standards, as well as products that flow from certified forests to the marketplace. Products bearing the FSC logo are available around the world from a variety of mills, manufacturers and distributors. In addition, many retailers in the United States also stock FSC products, including The Home Depot and Lowe’s Home Improvement Centers.
What do you think? Is reclaimed wood more plentiful and affordable than FSC-certified wood? Do you know of other companies offering reclaimed wood countertops? Can you share your opinions on or experiences with using reclaimed wood countertops? Please leave a "comment" below!
—Ellen Sturm Niz, K+BB Web Content Manager
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