Decisions, decisions. From deep red to greyish white, janka hardness of 1360 to 2820, there’s lots to consider when selecting flooring. Are you willing to sacrifice harness for aesthetics? What color fits into your decorating scheme?

Each type of wood offers unique virtues, and its own challenges. We’ve outlined the major pros and cons of our top wood flooring products below.

Ipe Flooring

Pros: As one of the hardest woods on the market, Ipe stands up to even the heaviest wear and tear. From spills to heavy foot traffic, ipe stays intact. With a dark reddish hue, this wood lends a sophisticated, warm look. 

Cons: In dry climates, Ipe will crack and splinter. In many cases it doesn’t have the uniform coloring that you might expect from other woods, and it doesn’t take finish easily. If you’re looking for a smooth, monotone floor, ipe might not be your best bet.

Douglas Fir Flooring

Pros: With straight grain and uniform coloring, Douglas Fir flooring is even and smooth. What’re more, it doesn’t fall victim to warping easily and is suitable for almost any climate. Its lighter coloring also achieves a classic look that looks great with lighter decorating palletes.

Cons: Douglas Fir is a relatively soft wood, so it’s susceptible to nicks and dents.

Jatoba Flooring

Pros: Jatoba is a very hard wood, so it will resist nicks and scratches with ease. It’s known for its unique rich, red color.

Cons: Because Jatoba hails from Brazil, it can be trickier to obtain sustainably. The price-point is a little bit higher than other options. The hardness, distinctive grain, and unique coloring makes it a bit more difficult to sand or stain, as well.

Oak Flooring

Pros: Thanks to its distinctive, wavy grain, you can spot oak flooring from a mile away. It’s durable and withstands everything from scratches to warping.

Cons: For some, the bold grain is a drawback. It’s difficult to stain the wood consistently due to the two-tone coloring, so its opportunity for customization is limited.

Camaru Flooring

Pros: Also known as Brazilian teak, Cumaru flooring is incredibly durable. It’s one of the hardest woods on the market, so you can count on it to resist rotting, warping, and the effects of rambunctious pets and kids alike.

Cons: Its virtues also present some installation challenges. Thanks to the hardy nature of this material, it’s incredibly difficult to manipulate. Most Cumaru has to be pre-drilled before installing.

Need a helping hand in your flooring decision? Let us know your building situation, we’d be happy to help. As always, we encourage you to purchase FSC certified products, they ensure that you’re getting a great quality product and supporting the ethical harvest of wood materials.

Home Décor with Staying Power

The cedar shingles vs. cedar shakes debate is a common one amongst architects and designers. While cedar shingles deliver a polished, refined aesthetic, they don’t have the unique, textural character that cedar shake provides.

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Cedar Shake: Historic Detail

A cedar shake roof stands out amongst the usual tidy rows of shingles. With unique texture and individualized shake lengths, they speak to construction methods of the past. Each shakes is hand-hewn from the unique, slightly stringy cedar lumber. Cedar roofs have kept people dry since the frontier days, and continue to do so today.

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Durability that Endures Any Weather

When pioneers first reached Pacific shores, they relied on cedar to provide them with a warm and durable home. It’s one of the few materials that can stand up to relentless rain and wind.

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Rustic Headboard

We love how dynamic this installation is – it’s a headboard, an accent wall, and a functional surface all in one. Painting a few reclaimed boards will give a pop of color to the otherwise subtle palette.

photo credit: blackstoneedge.com

Natural Cabinetry

Typically, cabinets aren’t necessarily show-stoppers. While you’re cooking up home renovation ideas, this multi-dimensional cabinet space is a great example of thinking outside the box.

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Dramatic Beams

Talk about stop-in-your-tracks décor! Our favorite reclaimed wood homes this month are accented by bold beams. Both reminiscent of traditional architecture, and at the same graphic and modern, reclaimed beams offer versatility at its best (and boldest).

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Simple Shelving

These shelves are proof that ‘simple’ is not a synonym for ‘boring.’ The understated colors provide the perfect canvas to showcase your favorite photos, china, or artwork.

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Bold Accent Wall

This type of recycled wood project looks especially striking when paired with stark white walls. The monochromatic color lets the textures in the reclaimed boards really shine through, which creates a memorable stylish element in your space.

photo credit: bit.ly/1MBVPAe

Considering using reclaimed woodin your next home renovation project? Talk to the AltruWood experts; we can help you select the right choice for your home or commercial space.

Every purchasing experience comes with choices. Increasingly, consumers have the option to buy products that offer a sustainable solution. Ethically harvested wood products exemplify a high quality product with a lessened environmental impact.

AltruWood offers sustainable wood product options to customers around the country. All of our FSC certified wood is as good for your project as it is for the future of the environment. Learn more about the system that we use to bring the best, most ethical products to you.

What does FSC mean?
‘FSC’ refers to the Forest Stewardship Council®, an international nonprofit formed in 1993 with the goal of promoting responsible forest management.

How did FSC certification start?
When the 1992 Earth Summit was unsuccessful in creating laws to prevent deforestation, groups decided that it was time to take action. By 1993, businesses, environmental leaders, and NGOs had formed the FSC.

How does it work?
FSC certification is a voluntary program that promotes “environmentally sound, socially beneficial and economically prosperous management of the world’s forests.” In order to be FSC certified, wood products must meet the system’s rigorous environmental, economic, and community-focused benchmarks.

Certification contains 10 principles and 57 criteria that relate to these benchmarks. It’s the only system in the world that considers the all-encompassing role that forests play in communities. For example, an FSC-certified forest must engage local communities, preserve groundwater quality, and protect natural forest cover. It provides a long-term structural guideline for humans and trees to coexist.

How many FSC products are available?
We carry a variety of FSC products—from FSC reclaimed wood to FSC cedar, you’ve got access to variety and unparalleled quality.

We’re proud to be a hub in Portland for FSC certified wood. Get in contact with us with any questions you might have, we’d be happy to help.

If you ask a Pacific Northwesterner what their favorite regional attraction is, you’re unlikely to get the same answer twice. We’ve compiled our most-loved spots in the region. Let us know which place you would add to the list?

Quinault Rain Forest [photo] – Credit: Instagram user Justin Calverly @jccalverley

Stretching across Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, Quinault Rain Forest lives up to its name. This area gets an average of 12 feet of rain per year. “The Valley of the Rainforest Giants” is also home to the world’s largest species of several trees, giving it an ethereal quality.

Enchantment Basin [photo] - Credit: Flickr user Bill Devlin, billdpix

For a few brief weeks in October, Washington’s Cascade Mountains look ablaze thanks to the larch trees’ brilliant transformation from green to gold. Take a scenic drive down U.S. Route 2 by Leavenworth to see the forests aglow. Nature photographyopportunities will be in strong supply!

Multnomah Falls [photo] – Credit: Instagram user Ayaka Teal, @ayakateal

Whether you’re exploring some of the best northwest hikes the PNW has to offer or cruising along the Historic Columbia River Highway Scenic Byway, it will be difficult to not come across beautiful forests. Make sure to save time to admire Multnomah Falls (pictured above) –its stunning foliage backdrop is a can’t-miss, no matter the season.

Willamette National Forest [photo] – Credit: Instagram user Ian Andrew Nelson, @ianandrewnelson

This corner of the state feels especially alive in the presence of fresh snowfall. Often hailed as the most beautiful forest in Oregon, it captures that wild spirit that makes the Northwest so special. Ski in the winter, hike in the spring, and enjoy the landscape as it changes with the seasons.

We’re big fan of forests—both near and far—and we believe in protecting these dynamic landscapes and protecting them so that people and can continue to enjoy them, and ecosystems can continue to thrive for generations to come.

By choosing to purchase sustainable wood products, you’re taking a stand for our forests, too. Find beautiful, environmentally responsible solutions with AltruWood.

Accent Wall

Knots, one-of-a-kind colors, and unique imperfections yield a unique backdrop when used as an accent wall. Standing alone, Douglas Fir makes a powerful impact. We love how this location of True Food Kitchen used our reclaimed Doug fir to add rustic warmth to their sleek open kitchen.

Flooring

Douglas fir flooring has long been a staple in craftsman homes but looks as natural in a modern decorating scheme as it does a rustic one. For a unique look that recalls the past, considering wider planks.

Trusses & Beams

We’re big fans of decorative assets that allude to a functional purpose—and classic trusses and beams achieve just that. In the 19th century, virtually every home used these elements for structural support. While they are no longer contribute to a home’s structural integrity, it does add a unique, historical quality to any home.  We love how this homeowner added dimension to a traditional bathroom with our Douglas fir hand-hewn beams.

If you’re looking for tips about finding the right finish for rough sawn Douglas fir timber beams, get in touch with us; we’d be happy to help. You can also browse our inventory of reclaimed CVG Douglas fir, reclaimed Douglas fir beams, Douglas fir flooring, and more.

Kitchen

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We’re strong believers that small details can make big impact. Rough-hewn reclaimed wood as the backdrop to your shelving creates a unique neutral pallet in your kitchen. This looks especially memorable if you have open shelving in your kitchen or cupboard – we love the juxtaposition of the delicate china and rustic recycled wood in this home.

 Dining Room

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Allow for some extra hominess in your dining area with a reclaimed wood dining table. The beautiful reclaimed wood of this table stands alone, and thus looks great in a minimalist design scheme. What’s more, the beauty of reclaimed wood is in its natural grain and weathering, so it can handle the wear and tear of dinner parties with grace.

Living Room

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Cozy fires and reclaimed wood feel like a natural pairing, so the two together are a match made in paradise. Whether you opt to create a simple mantelpiece from a hand-hewn beam or a full statement wall around your fireplace, a hearth of sturdy, warn reclaimed wood is sure to create comfort.

Bathroom

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Scrap the traditional kitchen sink and replace it with something a little more inspiring. This earthy take on a bathroom vanity brings a fresh take to this bathroom staple. Due to the aged nature of reclaimed wood, it’s some of the best wood for furniture—you can always rest assured that wear will only make it look better.

Bedroom

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Is there not something comforting about reclaimed wood? The natural color palette and distinctive textures manage to be relaxed, sturdy, and warm. These characteristics are perfectly suited to the bedroom, where they can help create the perfect retreat for you to return to each evening. Adding a reclaimed wood headboard is simple project that helps your bedroom stand out amongst the rest.

From New York to Portland, reclaimed wood has become an interior designer’s greatest ally. We’re excited to see how you create a memorable focal point for your home with this timeless material! Share your pictures with us on Facebook or Houzz, we’d love to feature them on our blog.

When looking for ways to build more sustainably and integrate unique character into homes, people often first think of reclaimed wood. Rarer is reclaimed barn siding which offers rugged character and rich history. 

Location, Location, Location
Oregon is famous for two things: old growth forests and a storied frontier history: in the mid-1800’s, more than 400,000 people took the Oregon Trail to the Pacific Northwest, where they crafted homesteads from the region’s old-growth.

These barns are a testament to an important era in Oregon’s history. Today, many of these hearty barns still stand. Today, we are able to repurpose these historic structures through wood reclamation.

The Process
When a barn is no longer functional, it is typically torn down. Our process provides a new purpose for these otherwise unusable structures. The AltruWood team carefully disassembles the barn so that the quality and character of each board is maintained. In order to do this, our team cleans and removes the nails during the deconstruction process, so that the wood is as good as new, while maintaining its original grain and character.

Our philosophy is that every board has the potential to provide value to a new project, so we take care to preserve the unique quality of each piece. When we are finished ‘harvesting’ the barn siding it is a versatile material, whether used for the structure of your home, or for your barn wood projects.

What Makes Recycled Barn Wood Different
Most reclaimed barn siding has faced decades—if not centuries—of exposure to the elements. Their boards have withstood harsh winters and humid summers and stood to tell the tale. This type of wear and tear is what makes reclaimed siding so unique. The weathered wood is durable and features a unique patina that you simply can’t replicate. It’s authentic and one-of-a-kind.

Headquartered in Portland, we are lucky enough to be in the backyard of many sources of reclaimed wood. Not only are we fortunate to have access to recycled wood, we are lucky to use it to build new projects that pay homage to our rich history.

Go Scandinavian

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 If you gravitate towards a clean, crisp look, reclaimed wood is a perfect complement to your design aspirations. Apply a fresh coat of white paint to capture the unique grain of the wood, while emulating the minimalistic Scandinavian aesthetic. This approach also provides a great way to showcase a bold piece of artwork on your wall.

 Embrace Imperfections

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A reclaimed wood wall is the ideal place to introduce some color into your décor.  We like taking the distressed paint or stain route because it delivers a visual pop while highlighting the unique textural elements that make reclaimed wood so special. You can also experiment with making a bright color reclaimed wood mosaic to bring eclectic home décor to your interior.

 Mix and Match

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 Sometimes, less is more. We love the idea of devoting one wall in your space to reclaimed wood, and painting the other surfaces a clean white or neutral color. The result feels more like an art installation than your traditional wall. Play with different stain colors to create the desired effect.

 Become a Puzzlemaker 

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 The “Lego” effect is taking off in interiors around the country, and reclaimed wood has replaced the plastic building blocks. Use boards to create a bold pattern on your wall, and consider using different stains for each board to add some complexity to the design.

Make an Impression

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 A little bit of drama can go a long way. Apply a dark wood stain color to a smaller space – a bathroom is a great fit – to create a sumptuous, luxurious feel. We like using a stain that is light enough to see the knots and character marks in the wood, as it allows even more depth and character to your wall.

Using reclaimed wood as a central design asset doesn’t have to limit your design dreams. We provide recycled wood products that are as beautiful and versatile as they are responsible. Purchase responsibly and get the best in reclaimed wood décor.