Modern rustic: decorating your home with reclaimed timber The designer Oliver Heath, who owns one of the homes in the book, is well known as a proponent of sustainable architecture. For Heath the benefits of using reclaimed wood are many. "Cladding a wall with reclaimed wood adds a sense of scale, character and creativity," he says. It brings a feeling of warmth to a space, adding texture that the eye can immediately relate to. And, most importantly, it connects your home to nature. Of course, kitting your home out like a sauna is not the goal. Balance is key. Wood can soak up a great deal of light, so it works best when teamed with pale surfaces. If you pine for panelling, use it as a feature, rather than on every wall, and blend in contrasting textures and colours. Be patient, too. You may not find the wood you want on your first sourcing trip, but that's the point. Uniqueness takes time, but it is worth the effort. Once installed, wood is hard-wearing and improves with age, with every knock and dent telling a story. You can't say that about magnolia emulsion. Reclaimed larch (main picture, above) Having stripped out his 1960s house's reproduction coving and carpet, Oliver Heath clad this wall in reclaimed larch to inject character and bring the natural world in. The timber came from trees blown down in Kew Gardens during the Great Storm of 1987. It is teamed with pale oak flooring, which continues the wood theme while acting as a foil to the rustic timber on the walls; the knotted and marked surface of the wall is in contrast to the smooth finish of the varnished floors. The sideboard was bought for £20, stripped back, then personalised with wallpaper. Wood panelling A rustic backdrop to an open-plan living and dining space, this reclaimed-larch panelling lines one wall of the designer Oliver Heath's home in Hove, East Sussex. A classic Ercol sofa (ercol.com) is layered with sheepskins and folksy embroidered cushions. The bright colours help to punctuate the wall behind and soften its raw feel. Salvaged picture frames make appealing surrounds for botanical prints, which are fixed directly to the wooden cladding. Rustic canopy Oliver Heath has used timber again in the master bedroom of his house in Hove, as a rustic canopy over the bed. The wood, from a reclamation yard in Brighton, was rotten at both ends, but Heath cut the damaged parts away and installed the planks horizontally to neatly match the width of the bed. To clean the wood, he gently sanded it down with wire wool then treated it with a light oil to stabilise the surface. The twin chandeliers are romantic touches that work nicely against the rustic timber. Mismatched wood Reclaimed timber from four different barns has been pieced together to create a striking wall and ceiling on the landing of this Californian home. The owners chose wood from multiple different tree species, in a range of sizes and shapes, to produce a unique patchwork effect. Wood can swallow up light, making a space feel dark, but windows, a roof light and the open nature of the landing itself, which overlooks the dining area below, keep this space bright. A vintage bus blind is a strong, graphic artwork. Cosy cabin bed A sloping roof is a design challenge, but the bedroom in the loft of this Dutch home makes a virtue of its angles. The owners have built a cabin bed against the roof, creating a cosy hang-out for their son. Determined to use every scrap of original wood from the property in new places when renovating, they employed painted floorboards from downstairs to form the structure of the bed. Hooks on the exterior provide storage and a turquoise-painted feature wall adds a splash of fun, ideal for a child's room. Wood kitchen units This Norwegian ski chalet, used at weekends and for holidays, is decorated throughout with a soft rustic look. The wood-panelled walls and ceiling create a warm backdrop that complements the kitchen units, which were built using reclaimed wood, with polished concrete for the worktop. The shelf above, a simple DIY project, keeps kitchen kit to hand while creating a relaxed display. The stainless steel of the dishwasher and oven break up the bank of units and prevent the recycled timber from looking frumpy. Floorboard wardrobes When the owners of this Dutch home renovated it, they wanted to give what was a collection of old barns and storehouses a modern rethink. They preserved features such as dramatic beams and incorporated original materials in new locations around the house, for example in the cabin bed shown earlier. In the master bedroom a bank of built-in wardrobes was also constructed from floorboards originally fitted on the ground floor, which were replaced by a polished-concrete floor. It looks beautiful, cost very little and is eco-friendly, too. Working with wood Avoid timber that has been affected by woodworm, which can weaken its structure. Find reclaimed wood at antiques fairs (International Antiques & Collectors Fairs are held around the country, see iacf.co.uk), timber yards and reclamation yards. Also look out for wood discarded from farms or building sites. Mixing species and finishes creates a patchwork effect, but it will take more time to source and install the woods. Reclaimed materials appear cheap at first, but there is effort involved in removing nails, cleaning and treating, and there may be wastage due to damaged pieces. Some reclaimed timber will not need treatment before installing, but if you do want to clean it up, go carefully. It is very easy to wear off the surface patina. A light sand or a soft brush-down with wire wool is often enough to clean up the wood while preserving its character. A simple batten frame will support standard-width planks on a wall, but the same wood could make doors and drawers too heavy to open easily and may need to be cut into thinner pieces. A qualified carpenter should be able to install reclaimed wood in your home. Go to checkatrade.com or ratedpeople.com to find someone reputable near you. Cladding walls with reclaimed wood improves the acoustic quality of a room and stops it being too "live." Paint the wall you will be cladding dark grey. Once the wood is installed, it will expand and contract with changes in temperature, creating gaps at times. These will be less obvious if the wall behind is dark, not white. 'Modern Rustic' (Ryland Peters & Small, £19.99) can be ordered for £17.99 plus £1.35 p&p from Telegraph Books (0844-871 1514)