Friday, September 11, 2009

Deconstruction Creates Fabulous Furniture

Posted by Lyndsy Czapla (DRN Intern)

Turning House Furniture is bringing new life to old wood by way of deconstruction. The company launched its green furniture line earlier this year and has been creating beautiful pieces of furniture from reclaimed wood that would otherwise end up in landfills. Thus far, the furniture’s sister company, Turning House Millworks (who performs the deconstruction), has managed to recycle 98 percent of each building they have deconstructed. Many of the buildings they have deconstructed were built in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, during the Industrial Revolution. Structures built during those times were primarily made from wood rather than steel. According to the company’s website, these structures yield a large amount of old growth wood from beams, posts and flooring—beautiful hardwoods that are centuries old and virtually unavailable today outside of reclaimed sources.

Turning House’s latest project involves the deconstruction of an abandoned tobacco warehouse in Winston Salem, NC. This project will bring new life to more than 230,000 feet of vintage wood. The deconstruction of this warehouse alone will allow the company to create tens of thousands of new furniture pieces from reclaimed woods that cannot be found anywhere else. The woods being deconstructed include long leaf pine, oak, and sugar maple. What’s really neat about Turning House Furniture is the fact that their furniture is not only green and environmentally friendly, but their deconstruction practices allow them to preserve history.

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Deconstruction And Buildingmaterials Reuse Network Inc