How to Bring the Beauty of Reclaimed Wood to the Bath

1. Talk to your contractor about the realities of protecting the wood. No matter whether you treat the wood or not, protecting it from direct contact with water is a good idea. “If water is allowed to sit on the wood, it will eventually find its way in,” says Daves, who recommends sealing reclaimed wood used in a bathroom with an oil-based polyurethane. “Anything that coats the wood will eventually be infiltrated and begin breaking down, but woods with high rot resistance will last longer,” he says.

Using wood as an accent wall where it won’t be splashed by water is smart. Here, a high backsplash protects it from direct contact with water.

2. Realize that the material will swell and contract. In this Hollywood actor’s bungalow, salvaged wood mixed with crisp white and vintage accents give the room a modern eclectic look. The designer, Laura Schwartz-Muller, even had a simple matching tub shelf crafted to match.

Schwartz-Muller understood the importance of treating the reclaimed wood as “a living, breathing thing,” as she describes it, one that will grow and contract. Thus, she used flexible silicone caulking and left a ⅛-inch gap between the sides of the tub and the walls, and beneath the tub top. She sealed the wood with three coats of fully cured polyurethane to protect it from moisture.

Learn more about this bathroom

Faucets: Lefroy Brooks; countertop: Pure White, Caesarstone; medicine cabinet: Restoration Hardware

3. Use reclaimed wood for contrast. It’s a wonderful way to add warmth to a modern bathroom. The rough-hewn quality of these reclaimed white oak timbers makes them standouts in this otherwise clean-lined space.

There is extra maintenance involved, so you have to decide if the look is worth it to you. When these owners opted not to add a glass top to the counter, they were aware that they would need to do a little light sanding and add a new satin-finish polyurethane coat on their countertop every few years.

Tip: The designers at Burns and Beyerl Architects recommend using reclaimed wood as a countertop in adult bathrooms as opposed to those for kids, as kids are less likely to mop up any splashes and little puddles they might make when using the sink.

Sinks: LaCava Plumbing

5. Add more than one reclaimed wood accent. Here the vanity counter and mirror create three long horizontal lines of dark rustic reclaimed wood.

In fact, reclaimed wood is an element these homeowners used throughout their farmhouse, and it ties the rooms to one another.

See the rest of this house

Sinks, toilet: Toto; faucets: Metris 31060, Hansgrohe; tile: Cane Iridescent #006, Oceanside Glasstile

When remodeling his 1902 foursquare home, architect Geoff Prentiss ripped out plaster and preserved the 113-year-old fir lath beneath it. “The lath, usually between 24 and 48 inches in length, was stained in part, which I liked, but also had lots of tiny nails and bunches of sand in it, which was not so good,” Prentiss says. He pulled out the nails, shook the pieces and then very lightly sanded the rough-sawn surface. After installing it on the walls, he used a clear sealer. “There has been no issue in the wood absorbing water, even as the backsplash of the sink,” he says.