Five Uses of Hardwood You Might Not Have Considered

When we think of adding wood, particularly hardwood, to your home, we immediately think of flooring. However, there are many other ways to use hardwood to add a touch of warmth and nature to any home or office. Listed below are five ways to use hardwood in ways you may not have thought of.

Backsplash

Usually, when we think about kitchen and bathroom backsplashes, tile is the first material that comes to mind. Instead, hardwood can be applied to a backsplash to great effect. The beautiful natural textures and grains of hardwood can bring a feeling of sophisticated warmth to a modern kitchen.

Room Divider

With the popularity of today’s open-concept architecture, many homes are open and full of light. The downside to open concept living is that often, any mess in the space can make the whole space look unkempt.

Adding a wooden room divider to mask a cluttered desk or a constantly overflowing countertop from view is a great way to keep the entire space looking clean and tidy.  

Coffee Table

With a little work, hardwood can be coated to make a unique coffee table. Expert woodworkers tend to choose to work with hardwood because of the patina of the grains and textures it provides. By choosing to have a coffee table made from this material, you are adding not just a table, but a conversation piece, to your living room.

Feature Wall

Painting one wall a vibrant color to give a room a focal point is a mainstay of the home decor toolbox. There are, however, alternatives to paint. Beautiful effects can be achieved with hardwood in a way you may not have thought of. For examples of the versatility of hardwood see SOEN Hardwood

Bringing the outdoors in has a calming and centering effect. This effect makes wood a great choice to use as an accent in bedrooms, or in calming spa-like bathrooms.   

Refacing Kitchen Cabinets

Many modern kitchens seem clinical and too impersonal. Studies show that people are happier when they are surrounded by a more natural environment. Take for example the calm feeling that one experiences on a walk through the forest.  Bring this feeling to a home, even just a little bit, results in a more comfortable indoor environment. 

Refacing a kitchen counter or set of cabinets with hardwood adds an original touch to any kitchen, and serves the second purpose of bringing personality to a sterile and cold space. 

This article mainly discusses using hardwood in general and how to use it besides as flooring. If you are wondering what to do with your hardwood scraps, this article from This Old House also has recommendations for using up your wood flooring scraps.

What all these uses of hardwood have in common is that adding a bit of wood to a home or office can serve to create a warm, natural feeling to an interior space.  With a bit of work and some ingenuity, the uses for hardwood are endless.