BUILDERnews Magazine, October 2007: Eco-Friendly Elegance

What Wood Buyers Want: Eco-Friendly Elegance

Published in BUILDERnews Magazine October 2007
What Wood Buyers Want: Eco-Friendly Elegance by Misty Haley Bouse

In cabinets, flooring and mouldings, buyers usually choose a species by first considering the wood's hardness and durability, as well as its grain and color. And sometimes, they even want to know if it is sustainable. So, what is the prevailing trend in consumer-driven wood preference? BUILDERnews readers want to know, so we solicited the input of kitchen designers, architects, manufacturers, distributors and forest certification consultants in addition to consumer studies to bring you the latest research on marketplace trends in wood and wood alternatives.

Eco-Friendly Elegance

With growing environmental consciousness, there has been a call to seek alternatives to harvested wood. From salvaged or repurposed timber, to replacement materials like bamboo, there exist options. And consumers love choice. In fact, bamboo, the evergreen that is a durable, water-resistant and stunning woody perennial, has never looked better as it finds a home in interiors. Consumers are ripening to recycled, sustainable and East-meets-West building materials.

Sunken redwood millwork by Redwood Salvage Sales, some cut before 1900s, is the result of 100+ years in the mineral-rich water of Big River in California. This redwood is beautiful with its tight grain and unusual variegated shades of blond, burgundy and rich cinnamon brown; it repels termites and resists rot.
[Photo courtesy Jay Graham; see larger image of paneling]

Reborn Countertops by Craft-Art utilize reclaimed wood. Choose Antique Heart Pine, Sinker Cypress, Antique White/Barn Oak, Pickle Vat Redwood, Barn Red Oak, American Chestnut and Tobacco Barn Beech. Craft-Art is recycling wood from old mills, barns, river bottoms and swamps for this new series of countertops. Visit craft-art.com.

BUILDERSnews magazine - October 2007 (page 70)

ABOVE: Quarter-sawn old growth salvaged curly Redwood, clear all heart. Dimensions, 8/4" (full 2") x 10", 12", 14", 18", 19" all x 8 1/2' long; plus leg stock. Bookmatched.

LEFT: Tight-grained quarter-sawn clear all heart cants. Shown here 24" x 22" x 16' and smaller. At least two vertical grain sides. Orders custom milled.

The San Francisco Chronicle Sunday Magazine

Own a Piece of California State History All of our wood is clear all heart salvaged old growth redwood. This salvaged sunken redwood has ax-shaved ends, meaning it was cut before the late-1800s. Originallyharvested between 1850 and 1910, this redwood falls into three distinct time periods: 1) A V-shape or "beaver-cut" meant that a log was felled with an axe between 1850 and 1876, when the labor- and time-saving raker-tooth saw was invented. 2) Logs cut with a saw and dragged to the river by mules or oxen were first shaved or edged around their circumference to prevent snagging. Learn more...	Fine Craftsmen and WoodworkersWe gladly interface with owners, contractors, architects, builders, designers and/or their agents to provide you our beautifully colored salvaged redwood. We know old growth redwood and what it can do. We hand select every piece of wood we sell, and we absolutely guarantee its quality. Redwood Salvage Sales arranges custom milling to any specifications you define in vertical, flat or mixed grains, and ship directly to your home or workplace. We can ship domestic and internationally. Our orders are shipped to you with no waste at all, every stick usable for its intended purpose. Learn more...
Brewery Gulch Inn Fournded and built by Arky Ciancutti with his eco-salvaged redwood, Gourmet Magazine (August, 2002) said, "this stylish new hotel sets a SoHo standard for design..." Wine Enthusiast (March, 2003) said that, partly due to this wood, the inn is "A masterpiece of style and design." Sky Magazine (Delta Airlines) wrote in June, 2003, that ...."wood connoisseur Ciancutti used the wood as lavish trim, a worthy tribute to those ancient trees." Learn more....	Myrtlewood Available All-burl Myrtlewood is available here at Redwood Salvage Sales. We have Myrtlewood slabs 2-1/4" to 3-1/4", all 10' long, up to 44" wide, all book-matched. Air-dried 6 years indoors. One of a kind pieces. Some beautiful furnishings and items have been created by our local craftsmen.
Customer Reviews Another happy customer installing their new redwood paneling says, "They look beautiful!"—Los Angeles Read what other customers have to say at our Customer Reviews.	In The News Magazine articles about Redwood Salvage Sales by Robb Report Luxury Home; BUILDERnews; Sawmill & Woodlot Magazine; and The San Francisco Chronicle Sunday Magazine. Check it out!
The Salvage Story A man's journey from doctor to innkeeper in Mendocino County began with dredging sunken timber out of Big River...the recovery of a lost treasure of Northern California!	Green Benefits and Durability of Redwood Redwood repels termites and its ability to resist rot enables it to last for generations—superb green architect resources for your green dream home! Learn more...

Redwood Salvage Sales

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What Wood Buyers Want: Eco-Friendly Elegance

Eco-Friendly Elegance