Back in the fall, we took a drive up to Pine Plains, NY, home of Antique & Vintage Woods of America. What a treat! David showed us around the warehouse, which is packed with parcels of wood of varying ages, pedigrees & states of reclamation.
Reclaimed mushroom wood
Our favorite was the batch of “mushroom wood” (pictured). These are 12′ planks of hemlock that were spread with manure and used to grow mushrooms for 60 years. After salvaging the planks, they brush and then kiln dry them (a process that no mushrooms, manure or critters can survive).
“During the growing process, the mushrooms produce an enzyme that eats away at the soft portion of the wood, leaving the material as if it had naturally weathered, but with a very beautiful honey-brown color.” - A&VW
We are considering using whitewashed mushroom wood planks for wainscoting in our guest bathroom.
We love the idea of running the planks horizontally along the four walls of our small upstairs guest bathroom to create a 36″ tall rough-hewn wainscoting with a narrow shelf as a cap.
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[...] described the mushroom wood in a previous post. I had so much fun whitewashing it with diluted milk paint. I felt just [...]