Here are some of our favorite barn siding decorating ideas to give your home the authentic rustic update that will make it stand out from the crowd.

Rustic Accent Wall

Accent walls are an imaginative way to add interest to any room. We love this trend because it’s a space-efficient way to add character to your home. The timeless nature of reclaimed barn siding walls also makes it a worthy investment that is both aesthetically pleasing as well as a desirable asset that will entice future prospective buyers. You can browse our selection of uniquely weathered boards and choose a grain and color that suits the décor in your home. We offer a range of dimensions and finishes to suit any home. Reclaimed barn siding has the added bonus of being uniquely weathered which means no two boards are the same.

Dining Room Set

Barn siding furniture is a fantastic way to add farmhouse charm to your home. For example, a table made of reclaimed barn doors would be a perfect addition to a cozy breakfast nook.  In the dining room, a farm-inspired table makes a great focal point. You can also incorporate burlap table runners, or cushions to heighten the farmhouse effect.

While farmhouse-inspired décor is especially en vogue at the moment, if modern is more your style, reclaimed barn siding is versatile. Weathered, silvery barn siding provides a sleek, stylish effect.

Sliding Interior Doors

Take barn doors inside by incorporating reclaimed sliding doors. This is one of our favorite ideas for things to make out of old barn wood. Reclaimed barn doors create a dramatic entrance to any room. It’s especially perfect for the entryway to your den, walk-in closet, or even your back patio. We love this example of a pantry entryway.

Farm houses have long been a source of inspiration for interior decorators, and for good reason. The rustic textures, unique weathering, grain, and earthy imperfections lend a one-of-a-kind aesthetic that instantly makes your home stand out. Contact us to find out more about AltruWood products. You can also visit us to read more about our mission of delivering responsible lumber products with style.

Clean Regularly (and Gently!)

“How do you care for cedar siding?” is one of our most-asked questions. In order for your cedar siding to look its best through the years, it’s important to have a maintenance schedule in place. Our team recommends cleaning the surface at least twice a year to remove dirt and prevent mold or mildew buildup. Hire a soft wash cleaning service to gently clear the surface. If you’re doing it yourself, use a pressure washer at the lowest pressure setting possible. This will prevent long-term damage from plaguing your investment and enhance curb appeal.

Paint with Care

If you choose to paint your cedar siding, there are a few things to remember. First, always make sure that the wood surface is completely dry before picking up your paint brush. If the wood is even slightly moist, the paint will buckle and peel, negating all your hard work. Cedar contains tannic acids, which can sometimes cause paint colors to bleed. It’s a good idea to let the cedar weather before painting, as this will release excess tannic acids and minimize the risk of discoloration.

Implement Pest Control

Woodpeckers, like the rest of us, love cedar siding. They’re typically on the hunt for insects, so it’s important to regularly monitor your siding for bug infestations and take action quickly if the need arises. Deter woodpeckers with wood chimes and don’t hesitate to scare them away with loud noises if it looks like they’re getting too comfortable around your house.

Cedar siding is an investment that will add beauty and financial value to your home for years to come. With options like cedar bevel siding and rough sawn cedar siding, it’s easy to tailor it to your unique architectural tastes.

Get in touch with the team at Altruwood to see if cedar siding is right for your home or check out our exterior Ideabook on Houzz for inspiration.

But what do you want your cedar siding to look like? Country-cozy? Modern minimal? Painted? Choices abound when it comes to cedar siding grades. So, here are a few pointers to keep up appearances on the home front.

Knotty Cedar Siding

Looking to infuse some old-world charm into your home? Or perhaps take the rustic-factor up a notch? Go knotty. Knotty is the unapologetic grade of the cedar siding bunch.

Knotty cedar siding shows knots, streaks, and other varied marks on its surface – these variations do not affect the cedar’s structural integrity and durability. Because of its sundry appearance, knotty grades have a casual, homey, and unpretentious feel… ideal for rustic and countryside home settings. Knotty grades are also the perfect choice for those who want the stability of cedar siding without the price tag associated with clear grades. Knotty grades can also be painted.

Don’t have a cozy cottage or cabin, but still like the look of unpainted knotty cedar siding? Mixing the old with the new adds a touch of modern revival characteristic of industrial décor – picture a 1940s drafting table with sturdy steel stools juxtaposed against knotty cedar paneling… Ooh, fresh!

Clear Cedar Siding

If knotty cedar is unapologetic in its appearance, then clear cedar siding is absolute, free of knots and blemishes.

Clear cedar siding is like the thread-wraps on a loom where cedar’s signature red brown hues are packed together in long neat rows that blend beautifully. Clear cedar siding is clean, refined, and sophisticated.

Clear cedar grades complement contemporary homes and minimalist décors, adding an unfussy backdrop to interior walls or a one-with-nature exterior left unpainted. Picture a home with vertical clear cedar siding… simple in appearance yet immaculate in design.

Finger-Jointed Cedar Siding

Finger-jointed cedar siding combines the clean look of clear siding with the varied feel of knotty siding.

Finger-jointed cedar is made by gluing the rectangular cuts of two pieces of wood. The joint is visible but seamless to the touch. Finger-jointed cedar siding alleviates the need to always mill solid planks of lumber from standing trees, which helps sustain forests and prevent wood waste.

And if you’re wondering, won’t the joints come undone from exposure? Nope, not when you purchase finger-jointed cedar siding that has passed elevated heat-resistant performance testing and has been grade stamped by an association like the Western Wood Products Association (WWPA). Be sure to ask your wood vendor about their finger-jointed performance testing.

Finger-jointed cedar siding is ideal for customers looking for a budget-friendly clear cedar grade that can be painted without worry of knots and marks peeking through the paint.

Clear finger-jointed cedar paneling is an eclectic and cost-effective alternative to classic subway tiling in the home when left unpainted. Clear finger-jointed cedar paneling also packs a punch inside bold and graphic interiors where the walls speak for themselves.

AltruWood-ism: Want to be cedar siding confident? Use our 5-step cedar buyer’s guide.

According to Johnson, the original plan was to use barn siding in just one room of Green’s home, but once the material was in place, it looked so perfect that Johnson decided to expand the scope of the original vision with architect Bob White, who was also working on the project.

“When we saw the results, we got excited. Doggone it if we didn’t pull it off,” said Johnson. “It really looked 150 or 200 years old. So, we just picked up the phone and ordered more of that barn siding.”

The design of the 14,000 square-foot estate outside Irvine, California was to look like an Italian farmhouse that had been in the same family for generations, with a sprawling design as though it had been added to over the course of many years.

The first room Johnson used reclaimed barn siding in was a vaulted, open family room with 20-foot tall ceilings and exposed beams. The architect specified that all of the barn siding used in the project would be weathered to a grayish hue, with no red tones. Each piece had knotholes and other imperfections, which is part of the material’s charm.

“Once we got done with that, the rest of the house actually looked too modern,” Johnson said. “We wound up adding it to the kitchen and to the game room. We went crazy with the stuff.”

They ended up using reclaimed lumber to wrap exposed beams, to panel several rooms, to create a front gate for the Green home, and on a unique garage door. The garage door appears to be a single panel of recycled barn wood, with slabs running vertically rather than horizontally. In fact, each piece was meticulously matched and cut so that the entire door is jointed and folds up automatically, just like a standard garage door.

When it comes to working with recycled wood, that kind precision is key to creating a beautiful finished project.

Johnson’s Tips for Working with Reclaimed Barn Wood:

Plan your placement: It pays off to spend time laying out each piece of lumber on the floor before you put it on the wall. Study the wood and determine which piece looks best next to other pieces. Consider variations in tone, as well as the size and shape of each board. Authentic recycled lumber is not as perfectly square as lumber purchased new from a home improvement center; there will be some gaps and cracks between pieces.

“A lot of the time, it was like building a giant puzzle, moving pieces around here and there. You end up really creating your own look with it.”

Expect imperfections: The beauty of reclaimed wood is in its patina—that weathered, age-worn look that is shown in knotholes, nail holes, cracks, and color variations. Johnson and his team embraced that look and planned for it. When paneling a room, they first put a layer of plywood on the walls, then painted that plywood black. The barn siding was affixed to the black surface so that once the room was complete, only darkness was visible through the knotholes and gaps, rather than a glaring white surface that would have detracted from the look of the material.

In some instances, the reclaimed lumber may need to be altered on site in order to meet the specifications of the job. For instance, Johnson said his carpenters had to miter the edges of some long lengths of reclaimed siding that were going to be used to wrap a beam. In order to make it fit, they needed straight edges, and the lumber in its original state did not fit smoothly.

“It was tedious, but once it was done, you could not tell it was a wrapped beam,” Johnson said.

Handle with care: For a successful project using reclaimed barn wood, it’s important to remember what you’re working with.

“This stuff is 100 years old,” Johnson said. “Some of it is brittle, and some of it is very thin.”

Because of that, working with the stuff requires a lighter touch to prevent breakage, splintering, and other unnecessary damage. While it may require a little more finesse to install, the results are more than worth it in the end.

“It turned out to be a very unique house,” Johnson said. “It’s really something special.”

Cedar siding is not all created equal. In fact, each individual board is inspected and graded by a certified lumber grading agency. They inspect it for numerous different factors, but two of the terms you’re going to hear most often when you’re selecting cedar siding are “knotty” and “clear”.

The clear grades are exactly what they sound like—visually clean and free from defects. You will see only a few, if any, of what lumber pros call “inclusions”. Inclusions could be knots, streaks, or any other kind of visual imperfections in the board. If you select clear western red cedar siding, you can know that you are selecting a product that’s not only durable (as all cedar is) but also beautiful.

Knotty grades allow more inclusions. There will be some knots or streaks. There will be more variation in color to the wood. Overall, you’re just going to get a more variable appearance. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Structurally speaking, knotty grades of cedar siding are still an excellent and durable choice—they just have a more casual, rustic appearance to them than clear cedar siding does. If you want an informal, natural feel to your home, knotty cedar siding could be the best choice for you.

Within each of these varieties, the cedar is given a letter grade, such as “D and better” or “C and better.” Just like in school, the higher the letter, the better quality it is, with “A” representing the very finest cedar siding. The “and better” part of the phrase means that when you buy a lot of “B and better” boards, you’re guaranteed that nothing in the assortment you receive will be lower than a B, and some if it is going to be better—meaning there will be some excellent, A-grade cedar siding included as well.

The other major distinction to be aware of when you’re selecting cedar siding is the difference between vertical grain and mixed grain. These terms stem from the way the log was run through the saw when it was milled into boards. If the log of raw cedar was sliced perpendicular to the growth rings of the tree, so that what you see when you look at the finished board is little straight lines running up and down, then you’ve got vertical grain cedar. Clear vertical grain cedar is prized for both its beauty and its dimensional stability; when it naturally expands and contracts in relation to moisture in the air, it does so evenly, with no twisting, warping or buckling.

If the board was run through the saw the other way, parallel to the growth rings, then you’ll see a wavier grain pattern, with a more visible light to dark variation. This is called flat grain, or sometimes cathedral grain. If you order mixed grain cedar siding, then what you get is going to be just what it sounds like—a mixture. Some of it will be vertical grain, and some will be flat grain. Mixed grain cedar siding is generally a more economical way to go, and still provides you with the premiere rot- and disease-resistant qualities of sought-after Western Red Cedar.

You might be asking yourself, Who makes these rules? What standards are they using for their inspections? Good question. After all, if something’s going to be on your house for the next several decades, you want to make sure these folks know what they’re talking about.

There are multiple different lumber grading organizations in the U.S. and Canada, but when it comes to cedar—specifically Western Red Cedar, the specific type of tree that has the natural rot- and decay-resistant properties cedar is known for—there are two main cedar grading agencies.

1. The first is the National Lumber Grades Authority. This is a Canadian organization, which is important, because much of the world’s highest-quality Western Red Cedar siding is sourced from the sustainably-managed forests of British Columbia. In fact, the NLGA is the only recognized rules-writing body for lumber grades and standards in Canada. Its expertise doesn’t stop at the border, however. It is approved by the American Lumber Standard committee, and it incorporates grade rules that are in use throughout North America.

2. The other well-known agency for grading cedar is the West Coast Lumber Inspection Bureau, or WCLIB, right in our hometown of Portland, Ore. It’s one of only seven agencies accredited by the American Lumber Standard Committee to actually write grading rules, in addition to providing grading and inspection services.

So, whether your red cedar siding came from the forests of British Columbia, or grew on soil in the U.S.A., you can be sure that it’s been inspected by experts and graded according to rules that are accepted on both sides of the border.

Now, with your newfound knowledge of lumber terms fresh in your mind, you can head down to your supplier and order your cedar siding like a pro. If you’re not already a subscriber, sign up for AltruWood’s Blog for the latest industry news, tips and tricks from the wood experts.

Cedar siding is a broad term that can refer to a number of different wood species, and not all of them have the same decay and weather-resistance properties. Western Red Cedar is the variety most people have in mind when they say they’re looking for cedar siding. It’s the species containing natural chemical compounds that make it rot- and disease-resistant.

However, vague naming practices can lead to confusion when you’re standing in the lumber aisle looking at half-a-dozen different types of cedar siding. Aromatic Cedar is actually a variety of juniper tree that’s marketed under the name Aromatic Red Cedar; wood-working sites describe Aromatic Cedar boards as knotty and narrow — not the clear, straight-grained cedar siding produced from Western Red Cedar trees. Port Orford Cedar is actually a variety of cypress, and is known for its uses in gardening and instrument making; it’s not what you’re looking for either, if you desire true red cedar siding.

Inland Red Cedar is another label you might see at the lumber store. This variety is closer to the real thing, but still not quite right. Inland Red Cedar is similar to Western Red Cedar, but it doesn’t come from the fertile coastal forests of the Pacific Northwest, as true Western Red Cedar siding is. Inland cedar is grown at higher altitudes, along the interior slopes of the Rocky Mountains, and the lumber produced from these forests is of smaller diameter. It also has fewer of the tannins and phenols that make Western Red Cedar siding so durable.

Western Red Cedar siding is the stuff that gives its botanical cousins such a good name. Botanically, Western Red Cedar is known as thuja plicata, and it’s full of naturally-occurring compounds known as thujaplicins, as well as water-soluble phenolic molecules, better known as tannins. That may sound complicated, but all you need to know is that thujaplicins and tannins are the ingredients within the wood that make Western Red Cedar siding resistant to rot, to decay, to insects, and to fungus. These invisible-to-the-naked-eye molecules are most likely what led you to choose cedar siding in the first place.

The problem is, even once you’ve narrowed your cedar siding varieties down to Western Red Cedar siding, you still need to be picky about the age of the lumber used to create the siding. Trees from a young, first-generation forest, it turns out, don’t produce extremely rot-resistant cedar siding, because naturally-occurring tannins increase as a tree ages. In an article published in the journal “Wood Science and Technology”, scientists found that the amount of natural preservatives found in the wood was related to how old tree was. “Products made from the wood of younger trees will be less resistant to decay than similar products made from the wood of old trees,” the study found.

So be choosy about the cedar siding you select for your home:

- First, make sure it’s really Western Red Cedar—no imitations, look-a-likes, or substitutes.

- Next, investigate the source of the lumber. Where was it grown? Did it come from the Pacific Northwest’s coastal forests, or was it grown at high altitudes, farther inland, resulting in smaller trees and fewer natural preservatives?

- Then, ask about the maturity of the trees. Was it from a first-generation forest that was harvested as soon as it was big enough to cut? Or was this lumber sourced from a forest allowed to grow and develop over time? Did it have the time to age into the durable, beautiful, and rot-resistant wood you expect in Western Red Cedar siding?

Chances are, the guy at a big box store down the street won’t have the answers to those questions. Do yourself—and your house—a favor, and make sure you purchase your cedar siding from a knowledgeable distributor. At AltruWood, we call ourselves the wood experts. That’s because we know where our products come from, and we’ll talk about them all day long. Give us a call—we’d be happy to help.

Reclaimed barn siding is distinct in the reclaimed wood world– it is the product that is most valued for it’s weathered aesthetic with minimum regard to structural integrity. We are providing this FAQ to hopefully help our customers identify the right “type” of reclaimed barn siding for their project.

Q: What should I look for when buying Reclaimed Barn Siding for Exterior Paneling?

A: Reclaimed barn siding for exterior projects is used to achieve a “gray, whitewashed look.” In order to get the longest life out of the product, you want to purchase wood that has greater structural integrity than what is needed for interior applications. The North and East sides of your home will bear more weather and as a result, these sides should get the most structurally sound pieces and, even if they start out brown, will weather to gray fairly quickly. When purchasing for exterior applications, it is better to err towards structural quality of the boards. For projects that will take heavy, inclement weather, we recommend using re-sawn joist material. This product can achieve the same look but is slightly thicker and more structurally sound.

Q: What specie of barn siding should I use for exterior applications?

A: We source our reclaimed barn siding from all over the country. The two main species we offer are Douglas Fir and Eastern White Pine. It is our experience that the Douglas Fir west of the Cascades tends to be more weathered and moisture damaged than the Eastern White Pine we secure from the Midwest and New England area. Douglas Fir will have more variance in dark brown tones (see the photo above) while Eastern White Pine is more uniform and a little lighter in shade. If you are using Eastern White Pine and desire more color variation, you can alter using the insides (brown) and outsides (gray) of different boards. As for performance, it has been our experience that as long as the material is sound, they both perform equally well.

Q: Which is better for exterior applications — shiplap or straight edge?

A: Reclaimed shiplap barn siding (with the original shiplap) tends to be thinner than straight edge material and we do not recommend it for exterior applications. If you want to purchase straight edge material and put a new shiplap on it — then that will work just fine. Keep in mind, in doing so, you will have a lot of waste and can lose a good percentage of material.

Q: How much waste or overage should I account for?

A: The more cuts you plan on making to the wood, whether it be to rip straight edges or miter corners, the more overage you should add. For exterior applications, plan on cutting up some long pieces and culling some more material out than you would do so for interior projects. A bare minimum is 10%. We have seen some projects safely add as much as 30% – 40% overage.

Q: Can I get reclaimed barn siding with some red or white paint?

A: Yes. Many people like specs of paint to add some color to their project. Keep in mind, this paint is often lead-based so check your local building codes before installing.

Q: What widths and sizes is reclaimed barn siding available in?

A: Our reclaimed barn siding widths range from 6 inches to 12 inches and beyond, depending on your project needs. Our reclaimed barn siding lengths average between 7 feet to 12 feet with some random lengths – 2 feet to 18 feet – in the mix. Available reclaimed barn siding thicknesses come in ¾ inches to 1 inch but is different by “lot”. When ordering single widths, ask us about how much siding can vary (in width) from piece to piece.

As with any reclaimed wood product, it’s best to know the whats, wheres, and whys before you buy reclaimed barn siding. No two reclaimed planks of barn siding are alike, which serves both as an appeal and a need to take precaution when making a purchase. For instance, do nail holes and rusty nail heads sound charming or unsightly? Was the barn deconstructed because of rot or an external reason, such as a land-clearing? Are you set on weathered barn siding that looks the same, or are open to a variety of reclaimed barn siding finishes?

If you are new to buying reclaimed wood, check out AltruWood’s Buyer’s Guide to Reclaimed Beams and Timbers to pinpoint the questions you should ask your wood vendor.

You can read more for yourself here:

Natural Home and Garden: A Healthier Home

Natural Home and Garden: All Decked Out

Many thanks to Natural Home and Garden Magazine for the shout-out!

We’ve also been Facebooking and Tweeting for some time now. Every once in a while we like to highlight the things we’ve been talking about on our social media sites. Especially when we think it’s worth further notice. Let’s take a stroll down memory lane for the month of March to see what’s been on our minds.

Buildings for sale at one measly Euro for residents to turn into a self-styled home. There have got to be similar deals in the U.S. right now. Know of any in your neck of the woods?

Creating a wall from reclaimed wood from Apartment Therapy. And we happen to know where you can get some reclaimed wood!

There’s lots of talk of prefab housing these days, but this advice seems to lend itself to homes both prefab and not.

Tiny spaces have also been all over the place lately, but this may be our favorite recently.

A skyscraper made of wood. It’s seems a retro idea, but what’s old is new again given how steel currently rules most cities.

On Facebook, we put forth this question: To glue down solids on concrete or not? This is something we are asked about frequently.

We were featured in Architect Magazine in March. Heading up a section on reclaimed wood, a pretty picture of one of our hand hewn beams.

Taking a step away from wood for a second…Have you ever seen leather floors? It was one of our crazy flooring pics of the day on Facebook.

For music lovers who also appreciate good design comes the ReAcoustic iPhone and iPad dock. Yes, it’s made from wood!

When old wood bridges are in need of a fix, their timbers are replaced with concrete beams. And although the bridge has been made over, the old timbers aren’t discarded – they’re made over too. That’s because the old bridge structures were made from old growth timbers, wood from trees that grew slowly and developed a higher ring count and increased durability. Reclaimed cedar from old bridge timbers has dried naturally throughout the decades, adding more stability compared to kiln-dried wood.

And when old wood bridges go bad, the bridge is decommissioned and deconstructed. Its wood is then salvaged and milled into reclaimed wood for structural and non-structural purposes. The Metro Vancouver Watershed Management Division in Canada did this with a portable milling project in the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve (LSCR) in 2008. Old wood logging bridges, felled trees across logging roads, and stockpiled timbers were milled on site to produce reclaimed wood for other woodland projects in the LSCR, including the restored Bear Island Bridge.

The LSCR pilot milling project is just one example of how reclaimed wood from old bridges and logging roads can be used. Reclaimed cedar from old bridges and logging roads can be graded and converted into reclaimed beams, reclaimed cedar siding, and reclaimed lumber for non-structural uses, such as décor ceiling beams and mantel fixtures.

Reclaimed cedar can be processed to fit any profile. Ask yourself these questions and keep your answers in mind when shopping around for reclaimed cedar:

• Do you prefer reclaimed cedar with a clear appearance or a knotty appearance?
• Do you need the reclaimed cedar to be professionally graded?
• Does the surface of the reclaimed cedar need to be free of nail holes, metal content, and checking?
• Do you prefer a rough sawn, hand hewn, circle sawn, or wire brushed reclaimed cedar surface?

And don’t forget to ask your reclaimed cedar vendor about their buyer’s guide before placing an order. Doing so can prevent unwanted surprises and headaches when you buy reclaimed cedar and any other reclaimed wood product like reclaimed wood beams and hand hewn beams.

- Nicole Morales