Reclaimed, painted and washed woods....a trend or a classic?

Reminder just 5 days until we have a winner of these gorgeous Murano handblown glass lamps from Swank lighting! The drawing is Friday, March 11th.To be eligible all you need to do is be a subscriber or follower...that's it!Be sure to visit them to check out their incredible assortment of Murano lamps, they have the most beautiful things....www.swanklighting.com.  Thank you Swank Lighting! Greige Design blogspot did a lovely post on them today, visit at http://greigedesign.blogspot.com.

Hand blown glass lamps from Murano Italy, made exclusively for Swank Lighting.  These lamps are designed after a popular, classic Barovier & Toso lamp from the 1940's.  They stand 24 inches tall to the top of the socket.  The glass is hand blown and loaded with 24kt gold flake with vertical ribs and controlled bubbles.  The hardware is top quality solid brass. They retail for $2700.00

Good morning. When I was lucky enough to attend the Maison and Objet show in Paris about a month ago, one trend that was huge and seen everywhere was the use of reclaimed woods,limed oak,natural woods, bleached woods, and painted woods. This is  the look that Restoration Hardware has made famous and has built a tremendous following upon. Belgian design and some elements of Swedish/Nordic design are based on this look of using the light woods and I have to say it is really quite beautiful. Though its a trend at the moment here, for certain European countries, like Belgium this "trend" has been around for centuries and is in fact, not a trend at all...so what do you think? Do you like it? Would you use it in your own home or perhaps you already are?
 I happen to think its really quite beautiful and we are considering using a limed oak finish for our back stairs. David Easton, in his new book features a gorgeous staircase of limed oak which is pretty fabulous. I love the softness of the wood, think it can look very elegant. Today I highlight some examples of this shown at its best..you know I always love to know what you think! There is reclaimed wood, pickled or limed wood, painted woods, stripped wood, distressed wood....and can range in color from almost white to a rich taupey color with variations in shading. The look is quite stunning and is often mixed with darker wood pieces for a little drama but even on its own, it creates a melodious, calming and serene feeling.

Love this room, elegant softly distressed woods look fabulous against the painted blue hutch, and painted console..love the mix, via Kitchen bath Ideas.

Elegant and old world dining room mixed the distressed weathered wood chairs with a reclaimed wood hutch, love the old rug which adds to the antiqued feeling of this room so effectively

Pretty dining area in light woods created a soft muted feeling room

Rinfret Designs used painted and pickled woods for this attractive dining room

This fabulous dining room uses a mix of woods with the focus being on the reclaimed wood dining table and chairs with some contrasting dark wood pieces in the room for drama

How about a wine cellar in reclaimed wood? Like wine, this will get better with age, created by

Bourgondisch-Kruis

Swedish Interior Design UK designed this fabulous room of painted furniture

Betty Burgess created this stunner of  a room in all its stripped wood glory

Suzanne Kasler kept the wood used here in pickled or distressed finish so as not to disrupt the calm and serene tone of this elegant space

Blackswood Farm created this beautiful and super cozy reclaimed wood bunkbeds!

A mix of pickled wood chairs and gold chairs against the dark floor..pretty!

Beautiful painted console and chair grace this pretty bathroom wall, Wisteria

Beautiful pickled wood chair and mantle grace this elegant monochromatic space

Elanor Cummings created this beautiful kitchen of antiqued timbers

A weathered finish table and a eclectic collection of chairs works here

Betty Burgess designed this fabulous dining room of pickled chairs and a dark table, like the mix

Eichholtz, a Danish based accessories company created this beautiful Belgian grouping

Light colors in this living room alongside a pickled hutch

Blackswood Farm used reclaimed timbers to create an "old/new" feeling in this kitchen

Beautiful room full of rich goldness, any wood used is light and distressed to create a certain harmony that is in keeping with the tones of the room

Love this space, wonderful example of mixing the light and the dark

Beautiful pickled wood tables and door frame keep the tones here soft and neutral

Any of the woods here are kept soft and light

Understated console and antiqued mirror grace a living room wall

Love the delicate slipcovered chairs here.... Country Living

A beautiful distressed monastery table looks fabulous and inviting in this kitchen!

Kitchenism created this unique and distressed island 

Pretty barn door armoire and reclaimed woods make this living room casual but elegantly rustic

I love the tones here, so calming, serene and old world feeling

Locati architects used reclaimed wood to create this fabulous living room in this luxurious mountain home....beautiful colors!

This is a beautiful room, love the distressed feel but very elegant and inviting at the same time

Reclaimed wood beams make this space so livable and cozy

Something so simple but so pretty...a beautiful painted bench

Pretty distressed painted chairs flank this pretty dining table,Country Living

Love the colors, the richness of the charcoal against the limed oak chairs..fabulous!

Hansome light woods were used for this attractive transitional feeling bathroom

This pretty foyer features woods both dark and light beautifully, Rhonda Elish

A stunning light palette room full of beautiful Swedish inspired feeling furniture

What a room! Beautiful rich colors, elegance abounds!

Morgancreek Cabinets created this Belgian inspired kitchen using light woods

The salvaged beams here make this kitchen feel old and authentic

Love this picture, the delicate chairs, the painted console, that gorgeous door frame..whats not to love?

White glory..what a sumptuous room!

Nicole Hollis used tall black chairs to flank this light colored bleach wood table

Beautiful painted piano and small delicate chair...amazing the transformation a coat of paint can do....give this dark piano an entirely different look!

A simple block table in pickled woods gets contrast from dark chairs

Restoration Hardware made this look huge...love this table!

More Restoration Hardware pieces.....gorgeous chest and table

Dana Wolter created a Belgian influenced feeling kitchen with this stripped oak center island and coordinating cabinets

Beautiful stripped oak table on stunning stone floors..simple but beautiful!

This pretty kitchen mixed white cabinets with a pickled island....quite pretty and I like the mix

A pretty light wood vanity looks simply understated

Beautiful ceiling that mirrors the oak table...elegant and so inviting

Love this room..the play of light and dark is fabulous here, Veranda magazine (thanks Karen)

This room does justice for the light wood movement..perfection!

Another view of the gorgeous table from Restoration Hardware

Love this table.....long farmers table in a light colored distressed rustic finish..fabulous!

This pretty charming kitchen gets cabinets made from salvaged wood, like the way they mixed it with a darker wood stained island....

Stunning light colored reclaimed timbers add so much charm to this great space,Blackswood