First Growth Reclaimed Design

About

Unique reclaimed wood home decor, furniture and art. Made from wood that has been salvaged from pre-1940's homes that are being torn down in Vancouver.

Story

Founder Garet Robinson started The Uncommon Good in 2013 from a small wood shop located behind his house in the heart of Mount Pleasant, Vancouver, BC. He had been building furniture for his home using old pallets, cedar fencing, etc. At the same time, a neighboring 1920's heritage home was being renovated, with much of the old wood being thrown into a bin to be taken to the landfill. Garet started salvaging some of this wood, quickly realizing how beautiful and valuable it was, being mostly first growth lumber. This first salvage from a pre-1940's home led to the formation and foundation of what is now The Uncommon Good Reclaimed Design.

At The Uncommon Good Reclaimed Design, all of our wood is salvaged from pre-1940's homes that are being demolished or de-constructed in Vancouver, BC. Every year, upwards of 1,000 pre-1940's homes are taken down in the city of Vancouver. The lumber in these homes typically comes from first growth trees that would have been 300 to over 1,000 years old. Without salvaging, this wood would either end up in the landfill or chipped up for fuel.

The majority of old growth forests in this region are now gone, having been logged extensively over the last several hundred years. Most of this wood is Douglas Fir, the most abundant species on the British Columbia coast. Douglas Fir was used extensively in construction, known for it's durability and strength. Cedar and Spruce was also used regularly. This wood truly is a part of our regional heritage.

What was once considered construction grade lumber now stands out as beautiful, rarely found (or very expensive) first growth wood. At The Uncommon Good, floor joists, roof trusses, wall studs as well as flooring, baseboards, etc gets transformed into furniture, home decor and art. We are proud of what we do and proud to offer products that are imbued with character, history and uniqueness, with minimal impact to the Earth.