From tables to accent walls: Wood from old Indiana barns finds new life as decorating trend

The barn had a rustic charm. But the nearly century-old building no longer was practical. It has no drains, no plumbing. Brian Blankenberger, the property owner, couldn’t even change his car’s oil in it. So when he and his fiancée Andrea Brothers planned to remodel the old farmhouse — for their primary residence, they decided it was also time to say farewell to the barn.

But Brothers takes comfort in the fact a piece of the barn will remain in their home forever — a beam that will form the mantel for a new fireplace.

And their barn will live on in many more people’s homes, on their dining tables, as the closet doors and many other places where people want that time-worn look of the barn wood.

Bloomington-based Hoosier Reclaimed Timber will take down a building piece by careful piece and salvage as much of the wood as possible for reuse.

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“We didn’t want it to just be burned because it’s really awesome wood,” Brothers said. “It’s sad that we’re taking the barn down, but I understand why we need to because it’s not useable.  … There just comes a time where you have to let it go."

A handful of local companies such as Hoosier Reclaimed Timber are finding business in barns.

About eight years ago when Adam Dick, owner of Hoosier Reclaimed Timber, took down his first barn, such wood products were not as popular.

Now, Dick estimates he has taken about 30 barns throughout Indiana and Ohio. At first, he looked for barns that he could take down for free in exchange for the wood. He searched on Craigslist and other websites where people listed barns for sale and just drove around. Now, he gets one to three calls a week from barn owners and can’t look at every offer he gets.

“I used to seek them out, but now they come to me. To get the better ones, you still have to seek them out,” Dick said. 

When he started the business, the company took about every job they could go to. Today, they are pickier. "We’re looking for the better barns,” he said.

Hand-hewn beams, preferably oak, make for the best barns. The more oak in the barn, the better. The best barns date back to the mid-1800s, and Dick won’t break down any barns built after 1920 or so.

Many barn owners want to save their buildings, but turn to Dick after learning that the cost to save a barn can be higher than the cost of building a new one. Besides, many of these old barns are not tall enough or do not have big enough doors to accommodate modern farm equipment.

Once the barn has come down, Dick either sells the lumber or brings it to his woodshop, where he makes flooring, trim, mantels, staircases, custom furniture, bookshelves, hutches, cabinets, anything that anyone could possibly envision in wood.

Like Dick, Angie Crouse didn’t start out thinking she would start a business devoted to barns. Her original plan was to build farm tables with her son to rent to people for wedding receptions. She was driving around looking for lumber and met a gentleman at a Southport farm stand, who offered her all the lumber she wanted if she took down his barn.

She did, one board at a time. Suddenly, Crouse, formerly in education sales, had a business of her own, Reclaimed Barns and Beams. So far, she has taken down five barns and has another five in process, most of them in Shelby County. All of her barns have been given to her in exchange for the labor of taking them down.

Now she, too, has a list of barns longer than she can accommodate. Each barn takes about six months to take down, according to her painstaking process. Crouse has a showroom in Shelbyville where she displays the tables, backsplashes and other pieces she crafts from the barns.  A single barn beam can cost around $25, a bread board $45, a reclaimed wood light fixture $999 and dining tables around $1,250.

On Saturdays, she hosts a maker’s space where people can come, buy her lumber and create their own pieces.

Her service appeals to many barn owners because Crouse passes on a little bit of history with the lumber she sells. She talks to the families about the barn’s history and takes photos. She shares family lore about farmers long gone. Often there are tears.

“Our goal is to pass on the heritage of the barn. … My brother always says if you listen quietly enough when you’re in a barn, you can hear the stories they’re trying to share,” she said. “People that have a barn know that the memory of their family won’t just be buried. It will be passed on to another family and it will make more memories for them.”

The oldest barn that Crouse dismantled was built in the 1850s and sat on a farm in Versailles.

When Miguel Hanza started looking for wood to use on the outside of a house his company Mint Properties was building in the Bates-Hendricks area, he knew he needed something that could withstand the weather. He also wanted material that had a natural feel to it.

Reclaimed barn wood proved the answer. He used wood from Crouse on the outside of the home and as an accent wall inside. He plans to use it in other homes he’s building.

While barn wood has soared in popularity in recent years, Hanza said he thinks it’s more than a passing fad.

“The thing about barn wood is that no two pieces are alike, so even if multiple houses have barn wood, it will never be the same exact look,” he said. “We wanted something that would stand the test of time and was more durable. What’s more durable than wood siding which has already lived a 100 years. There’s nothing more durable than that.”

Call IndyStar reporter Shari Rudavsky at (317) 444-6354. Follow her on Twitter or Facebook.