Page 32 - AT

A32 FEATURE
Thursday 30 January 2020
RIGHT AT HOME: Reclaimed wood's past adds character to decor

By KIM COOK Associated the farmers are continuous-
Press ly updating and replacing
In their new book, ``Re- the boards from the grow-
claimed Wood: A Field ing beds. In addition, the
Guide'' (Abrams, 2019), caramel color wood tones,
woodworkers Alan Solo- fine grain, and sculptural
mon and Klaas Armster textures offer a unique aes-
close with an imagined re- thetic,'' he says.
counting of one tree's story Jonah Meyer, who owns
from sprout to salvage. Sawkille Company, a furni-
The tale begins in the ture design studio in Rhine-
1500s, when longleaf pine beck, New York, praises
covered a vast area from heart pine for its ``wonder-
North Carolina down to the ful stripes. Heart pines come
tip of Texas and the Florida from the beams of Amer-
Panhandle — "the larg- ica's first factories, and of
est forested lands in North course, these were old
America," the authors say. growth forests that were
Over the next few hun- being cut. Old growth also
dred years, their pine tree means slow growth; the
grows to 120 feet. Natu- rings of the trees are very
rally fire-resistant, it survives tight. Nothing grows like
storms, woodpeckers, hunt- that anymore."
ers and the Civil War, until This photo shows Rhinebeck, N.Y based Sawkille Co.'s salvaged tree trunks made into stump ta- Meyer crafts chairs, tables
it succumbs to loggers in bles and seating. They can be bleached, stained or custom dyed. (Sawkille Co. via AP) and other furniture, some
the 1880s. The tree is then Associated Press of which he paints with
brought to a mill, shipped New York, supplying wood & Perrins plant in New Jer- towers, industrial buildings woodland scenes or deco-
to New York, and taken by salvaged from barns, com- sey. and agrarian structures. It rative motifs.
horse cart along cobble- mercial and industrial sites, "The wood is high-quality, has also salvaged framing When nature sends some-
stone streets to lower Man- and homes to architects, old-growth Douglas fir, free from mushroom farms; the thing his way, he'll make
hattan. For the next couple contractors and wood- of knots, with a strong scent woods — mostly hemlock the most of it.
of hundred years, its wood workers. Sometimes their of sauce after re-sawing," and cypress — develop "Occasionally we find a
frames commercial lofts hardwoods or softwoods says Solomon, who used unique characteristics over huge tree that has come
that hold hat shops and are left in their natural state, some of the wood to clad the fungi's growth cycle. down in a storm, so we cut
daguerreotype salons. Af- but the team also ``rehabs'' his own home. Company president Jamie it up for coffee tables and
ter demolition in the mid- beams and boards by refin- The Hudson Company, Hammel likes the idea that start drying the pieces.
2000s, the pine boards are ishing, sanding and giving which has a mill and show- the wood, often used as They're amazing to work
salvaged by builders to them coats of protective room in Pine Plains, New paneling in residential and with — some are almost
clad the floors of the Park stains, oils or waxes. York, and showrooms in commercial projects, is sal- 45 inches across,'' he says.
Avenue Armory and make In one case, Solomon says, Manhattan and Ridge- vaged from an ongoing ``Over time we get to know
gym bleachers in Baton they acquired wood from field, Connecticut, sal- agricultural process. the tree, and it's a good
Rouge, Louisiana. dismantled Worcestershire vages timbers and boards "So, in a sense it's a renew- feeling to have saved it
As the authors write, "the sauce tanks at an old Lea from various cities' water able resource, because from the firewood pile."q
longleaf that had grown in
the South and then went
North, ultimately kept roots
in both places."
The story describes what
could be the life's journey
of many trees whose long-
lasting wood was a primary
building material in the de-
velopment of towns and
cities.
These days, although many
new buildings are made of
concrete or brick, there's
a resurgence in using re-
claimed wood in every-
thing from ceiling beams
to feature walls, furniture,
flooring or exterior clad-
ding.
Architects and design-
ers appreciate the narra-
tive that salvaged wood
brings to a project, and the
physical charm of planed
boards with the patina and
markings of their life stories. This photo provided by Hudson Company in New York's Hudson Valley shows salvaged wood paneling at the Omi Center in Gh-
Solomon and Armster run ent, N.Y.
Sawkill Lumber in Brooklyn, Associated Press.