When you choose recycled timber for your interior design, you don’t just get beautiful floors, benchtops or pieces of timber furniture – often there’s an equally beautiful story behind them, with traces of their history that may still be seen in the profile.

"Currently, there’s a lot of feed stock coming in from around NSW," says recycled timber supplier Steve King. "It’s mainly Ironbark from bridges that are being replaced with modern infrastructure. Many of them were built more than 100 years ago but now, particularly with the drought, a lot are suffering."

Starting in the UK in the 1980s, timber recycling has meant that a lot of wood that once ended up on a pyre is now being appreciated for the many excellent qualities only found in old-growth timbers. "Timber was often overlooked for its visual appearance, such as in wool stores, or for structural purposes in buildings, so it was left rough sawn. Often they used what was on hand locally, so you could get a diverse mix of timbers from one source and you wouldn’t know what you were getting till you opened them up," says Steve. "Now when we re-mill them, the different grains and colours become obvious and we prepare them for a range of purposes, including recycled timber floors and dress timbers."

Many wood textures, such as Ironbark, Spotted Gum and Blackbutt, are known as ‘Crown species’ because up until federation, the Crown owned them. "When Australia was settled they quickly worked out which were the best structured timbers and anything of great value became the Crown’s," says Steve, adding. "Today they are still the best choice of timber, as they are the hardest, the most durable and have the best grain." The qualities of Jarrah and Brushbox were not discovered until later, so avoided becoming Crown species. "Jarrah and Karri became popular as flooring because of their lengths," Steve explains. "Until then, Baltic pine imported from Europe had been used. But Australian timbers proved to exceed the European timbers in strength and density.

"They are all great to dress up. In the old trees, you often get fiddleback, where the trees compress and grow back on themselves. Furniture makers love the fiddleback feature and it’s also popular in recycled timber flooring." You may also see the evidence of fire or flood or the pinholes and corkscrew trails left by the beetles and worms that once inhabited them.

Steve says that although recycled timber is up to 10 per cent more expensive than new timber, they are structurally sounder. "You get a lot less movement, as the timber has already acclimatised and is usually down to 9 or 10 per cent in moisture which is perfect for creating recycled timber furniture and interiors."

Contact a recycled timber supplier to discuss your quality hardwood options.