I get my barn wood from a little side of the road shop in Gardnerville, NV. They actually tear down local barns that people don’t want anymore and resell the wood. Up at front desk they have a binder full of pictures of the barns, along with the location and estimated year the barn was built. Throughout the shop are signs set up dividing the wood by the barn it is from. One of my favorite things about this store is the two giant rolling doors they have with hundreds of brands burned into it. Just shows how long this little shop has been around. (I’ll take a picture of it next time I go).

One of the reasons I am drawn to working with barn wood is that each piece has lived a long respectable life before I even get a hold of it. Thousands of days baking in the sun weathering the wood to a perfect grey or the layers paint built up over the years as the last one fades make a charming color pallet to work with. There is plenty of the classic red and white that makes up a traditional picture of a barn, but every once in a while, you uncover an oddball color like baby blue or turquoise!

Bringing the barn wood back into a household gives it a new life. Some of the projects I use it in are my mirrors and clocks. I love to make them the center of a room or an attention-grabbing piece. As a dedication to the long history of something that was overlooked to artwork.

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You can recreate similar effects and colors on fresh wood, many can do it well! (Check the hundreds of YouTube videos)

But there is nothing quite like authentic barn wood.

Have another reason why you like barn wood? Have you used it in any of your projects? Let me know down in the comments!