Recycle, resource…

Design Idea – Reclaimed Flooring for Non-floor Applications.   When we moved into our house, the main floor bathroom was one of the selling points for me.   It still has the original tiles and fixtures, but one of the previous owners went with fairly aggressive wallpaper that creates an interesting vibe.   I liked everything except for the cheap looking “laminated” counter top that someone decided was the best idea for the old cabinet (boo).   Granted this material resists water and is maintenance free, but you can get there in many ways that also look nice. 

Removing the top was off the table (here all night everyone, 9 o’clock show is different than the 7 o’clock show), so I had to limit options to overlays.   A single piece of ply with some stain and seal would do the trick, but that is too easy and texture-less.   That also seemed inappropriate for this room given everything else that was going on.   After some thought, I arrived at the idea of using reclaimed tongue and groove flooring, the same board size used throughout the house (the original oak), as the overlay.   This was beneficial not only as it would produce a texture (uneven boards), but it was also relatively easy to work with as this was to be an indoor winter project.  

The results you see here are better than I had imagined.   I was able to find a small bundle or remnant flooring that I simply glued over the plastic.   I used another piece of remnant pine to produce an “end cap” that is the face board.   Instead of staining the wood and adding yet another color to the busy room, I painted the surface black to match the cabinet.   The wood grain was “lost”, but the gaps between the boards and general variations in level produced by using smaller pieces instead of spanning sections provided the desired texture.

There seem to be many other ways to go with this idea.    I used the left over pieces from this project to make a small tray.   I could also see using many small pieces to create a cool mosaic that could be a table-top…lots of angles.  

Ping me on the blog if you want to discuss this concept.   Of all the oddball things I think about, this one is near the top of the list of interest as the results could be amazing in certain applications, not to mention 100% unique.