-->
(Please
note: We are not being paid, sponsored, or receiving any form of
compensation in exchange for including the following items in this post.)
Reclaimed wood floor in a modern coastal home. |
In this post, we’re celebrating a couple of incredibly cool and environmentally sustainable building
materials. We’re also honoring an iconic mid-century modern dining table created
specifically to eliminate the “slum of legs.” (Keep reading to find out what
that means…)
Reclaimed wood is just what it sounds like: old lumber,
originally used for one purpose, that’s been reclaimed for another purpose. Some
advocates call it “antique wood.”
Reclaimed wood is salvaged
from old, abandoned barns and sheds, shuttered factories and warehouses, razed houses,
etc., built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Depending on the region in which it’s located, reclaimed lumber can be found in almost every
type of wood: Cherry, Cypress, Longleaf Pine, Mango, White Oak, Walnut and Black
Walnut, Mahogany, Pecan, Teak, and other exotic woods.
For architects
and home builders, using reclaimed lumber helps a new structure achieve LEED
green building certification because (1) it’s considered recycled content, (2)
it meets the “materials and resources” criteria for LEED certification, and (3)
some reclaimed lumber products are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified, which satisfies LEED’s “certified
wood” category.
Reclaimed wood is primarily used in residential settings also
accent walls (exterior and interior), cabinetry, furniture, and,
best of all (in our opinion), flooring -- beautiful, environmentally friendly flooring
that’s rife with character.
Now, don’t make the tragic mistake of thinking “reclaimed”
automatically means rustic and country. “Modern designers and architects increasingly
turn to reclaimed wood and other components to lend a unique persona to modern
homes – both for the exterior as well as for interior spaces,” Vera Dordick in her article “Reclaiming
Wood for Today’s Modern Homes” for Homedit.com.
Overhead, a reclaimed wood ceiling |
Reclaimed wood resources and specialists are available all
over Florida. So before you make a wood flooring decision, do yourself and the
trees a favor and consider beautiful, eco-friendly reclaimed wood.
Reclaimed floor and island base in soft gray finish |
2. Raw Concrete: sustainable and sexy
Speaking of sustainable building materials, concrete
is as good as it gets.
In its “raw” form, it’s so much more.
“Raw” concrete is concrete that’s left unfinished after it’s
cast so that the marks imprinted on it by the form molds remain visible.
As a sustainable material, concrete is abundant, renewable, low
maintenance, and durable. (It will pretty much last forever.) By its nature, it
promotes passive energy conservation: In interior applications, it absorbs heat
from the low winter sun then radiates that heat into the room when the sun goes
down. In the summer, it holds cooler temperatures at night and remains cool the
next day. This barrier between outside extremes and interior comfort reduces
operational HVAC energy usage by an estimated 29 percent, maybe even more.
Of course, concrete wasn’t always an option in the home building
industry. Commercial and industrial, yes, but not residential.
In the
early years of his illustrious career, Le Corbusier, the
Swiss-French architect who helped found the Modern Architecture movement,
worked as a draftsman for Auguste Perret, the first architect to use reinforced concrete in
residential construction. In 1914, Le Corbusier enlisted the help of engineer Max Dubois to determine a variety of uses for what he called béton brut, which means “raw concrete” in French. And with Corbu’s stamp of approval, other modernist architects began
to consider it.
Actually, béton brut
denotes an architectural expression of concrete rather than the robust material
itself.
Raw concrete wall in a bedroom |
Other than in garages and basements, concrete
isn’t visible in most houses. The foundations may be made of concrete block,
but they’re covered with brick or stucco veneers. (The veneer-over-concrete-block approach to foundations was Frank Lloyd
Wright’s idea. He also invented the concrete slab on which many mid-century
houses were built. Both concepts were intended to reduce the cost of
architect-designed houses.)
For several years now, however, many modernist
architects and their residential clients have embraced the intrinsic beauty and
authenticity of exposed, unfinished concrete in various applications, including
walls within ultra-elegant modern spaces. The rugged texture of raw concrete is
dramatically juxtaposed with lots of sparkling glass. The result is exciting
and, yes, downright sexy.
Finnish architect Eero Saarinen (1910-1961), who designed the St. Louis Gateway Arch among many other
well-known structures, was pummeled with praise for the modernist
furniture he designed for Knoll. Among
them: the popular Tulip
Table. It was part of his Pedestal Collection of the late 1950s.
A white engineered-granite top |
Saarinen’s tables have been widely copied
and reproduced, but authentic
Saarinen tables were manufactured then and now by
Knoll Associates, which Florence Knoll founded in 1948. From Knoll, they are
28-1/4 inches tall and the tops range in size from 35-3/4-inches round to 96
inches oval. The bases are made of heavy molded aluminum painted black or
white. The tops are available in a variety of marbles, woods, granites, and
laminate.
Vintage Tulip Tables are available. But
so are a plethora of cheap, badly made knock-offs. If you’d like to bring a vintage
Saarinen table into your home (and who wouldn’t?), know the characteristics of
the authentic version, especially
since the 1950s versions are selling for thousands. Pamela Wiggins’ article “How
to identify a genuine Saarinen Table” (The Spruce.com) will give you
all the information you need to make a confident purchase. Or save yourself the
angst and buy a new one from Knoll!
No comments:
Post a Comment