Here's a familiar site in Vermont and throughout New England… a beautiful old barn that's finally beginning to cripple under the stress of Mother Nature's 100+ years of wind, rain, snow, hail and other weather events (like hurricane Irene in this case).

But lucky for us, Vermont craftsmen are giving these beloved ancient structures a new lease on life– as rustic, reclaimed barnwood furniture.

We're amazed at the amount of work involved in rescuing old lumber from the floors, walls, beams and siding of these fallen soldiers.  Craftsman pick through a great deal of unusable lumber in order to find pieces suitable for furniture. 

Once sorted, the wood must then be tested with a metal detector and de-nailed, before milling.  But once that is done, an incredibly beautiful patina often emerges that can go on to become a unique piece of heirloom furniture, rich with our American history.

Here's an example of a reclaimed barnwood table we crafted and sold lately.  This one even made it into Yankee Magazine as part of an article called, Reclaimed Style.

If you're looking for reclaimed barnwood furniture, give Rebecca or Shannon a call.  They work closely with our craftsmen to customize these pieces with your choice of antique wood.

Just as an aside, did you know that only 50 years ago about half of Americans were living in rural areas or on a farm? Today less than 2% of the American population is involved in farming.  In Vermont that number is 50% higher… still only 3%.  Perhaps that's why there are so many old barns that have fallen into disrepair.  Sad, but nice to have a way to recycle them and re-capture their story.

Many thanks to Picture Ninja for the use of their photograph of this forlorn old Vermont barn.

The post Old Barns Get A Second Chance As Vermont Fine Furniture appeared first on Vermont Woods Studios.