IF THE WALLS COULD TALK:  

With a limited budget and possessing a strong sense of eco conscience, a pair of cottage owners in Northern Ontario, Canada, chose to construct the interior of their new cabin with a multitude of leftover, collected and repurposed building materials.

 

As the country retreat was supposed to be a reflection of Aboriginal art and countryside living, the two sought out comfortably worn barn board and then harvested it from several nearby sources.  Because the couple had many cut ends from the interior's framing and the excess barnboard, it was decided to combine these pieces to create a collage type focal wall.

 

Needing to satisfy building codes for the woodstove surround & hearth, they cleverly used galvanized sheeting (already on the property from a previous owner) and cut it to match the descend of the staircase.  The hearth was made from stones collected along the roadside. 

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One of the most impressive upcycled wall ideas is from the kitchen and bathtub surrounds.  Water and mould resistant, exterior cement fiber siding was cut, installed and painted.

 

Hardi plank is a green building material that has no toxic compounds.  

It's made from wood and cement celulose fibers and it lasts a long time. 

 

And although a new a sustainably good choice of a quartz product was chosen for the kitchen counters, the wood cabinets were acquired from another home's demolition. 

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