The Look of Aged Wood
Aged wood is a look that a lot of people enjoy. For years, we’ve offered an aged wood finish at Vermont Timber Works. This would involve lying the timbers out in our field for a few months and letting them age naturally. As with all wood products, this couldn’t guarantee how the timbers would age or look, as wood is a natural product. But as our workload increased, and clients’ timeframes decreased, not many people want to wait months for timbers to age naturally in a field. Especially if it might not turn out exactly as they had in mind.
We found that we were able to replicate the look of aged timber with blue-based wood stains. The one we found that looked really nice was Arborcoat Westcott Navy. We were a little wary at first because the stain looked so blue, but the color mellowed on the wood and looks more like an aged gray color than blue. You can see the pavilion that we did below in that stain. I love how it turned out!
Gray Stains as an Alternative to Aging
When we found Vermont Natural Coatings recently, we saw that they have a whole Aging Stain collection. You can see all the color options below:
We haven’t used any of these gray stains on a project yet, but we hope to in the future. If you’re looking for an aged wood look, but don’t have months to wait for the wood to age naturally, you now have more stain options that can replicate the appearance of aged timber.
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Try using ecowood
It is a powder that when mixed with water and sprayed on wood instantly antiques it. We use it all the time to make new wood siding look like reclaimed barn siding from 100 years ago.
When combined with water and sprayed on wood, the powder immediately ages the wood.
Great work done here, also the color mixing was nice
We are building a new house & using lots of Douglas Fir. Inside is hand hewn truss beams & outside back porch ceiling has Doug Fir v-grooved smooth side ceiling. Doug Fir posts & large truss beam are hand hewn. We also have Cedar on front of house & garage doors (rough side showing). What would be a good stain color to use on both kinds of woods that would complement each? Or would the Ecowood method work for all the woods? If so where could we buy some to test samples?
Hi Barbie,
Wood stain and what looks best is definitely a matter of taste. We recommend going to a paint store and getting lots of samples and testing it on a piece of Fir and a piece of Cedar and choosing which stain color you prefer the most.
Thanks,
Caitlin
I really like the dark gray stain. Considering you guys for our barn as a home once we’ve found the acreage in Vermont. Glad to see someone u deratabda the lure of dark stained framing.
The dark gray color is great. Think about you guys for our barn as a house once we find land in Vermont. I’m glad to see that someone has resisted the allure of dark, stained frames.
I absolutely love the dark gray stain, it actually gives such a sophisticated and timeless look to the wood! It’s the perfect balance of sleek and natural.