Rustic touches such as barn doors and reclaimed wood used in a variety of places are the trendy way to add warmth to a contemporary home, an office or a retail space. While builders can track down used wood to install in new construction, for homeowners and renters it can be more of a headache to try to source authentic material and install it or worse, try to move it.
Waddell Manufacturing, a family-owned and operated woodworking company based in Ohio for more than 100 years, found a solution to that issue and created Artis Wall, a system of removable, reusable reclaimed wood planks.
"I really liked the warm and rustic look of reclaimed wood combined with a modern living space and wanted to achieve that look in my Cleveland rental apartment," says Will Kimmerle, director of operations for Artis Wall. "However, all of the products available at the time used a permanent installation method which would destroy my walls upon removal. The last thing I wanted to do was lose my security deposit. I saw the opportunity to create a removable product which would be the only one on the market. It took about a year to figure out and patent."
A Kickstarter campaign launched to help start production reached its goal in less than one week, so Kimmerle isn’t the only one who wanted a removable yet authentic wood product.
"Artis Wall is the only removable reclaimed wood product on the market," says Kimmerle. "It can also be re-used and is the only reclaimed wood product which tells you the story behind the material."
The planks can be used as an accent wall, a headboard, as a kitchen backsplash and as artwork.
Wood stories
The wood for each plank comes from barns and buildings around the U.S., like other reclaimed wood, but one unusual feature of the planks is that buyers can learn specifics about the wood they buy. Each plank has a code stamped on the back. When consumers enter the code on the Artis Wall website, they can get the age, location and previous use of the structure where the planks come from. For example, when consumers click on this code (https://www.artiswall.com/code-052017/) they not only learn about the barn in Danville, Ohio where their wood came from, they see a photo of the barn and learn a little about the history of the area and the style of the barn – a nice conversation starter for visitors.
Installation made easy
While accent walls or headboards made of wood have been developed before, Artis Walls come with "Artis Installation Method" strips that make them easier to install. The planks come in various links and are thin and lightweight, which makes them simpler to handle than thicker, heavier pieces of wood.
The planks can be cut with a utility knife, which allows buyers to customize the reclaimed wood for almost any use.
The Artis Wall kits come in various sizes and are priced from $11.45 to $19.45 per square foot. Kimmerle says the average accent wall is 80 square feet, so at an average price of $13.95 per square foot the total would be $1,116.
"We like to explain that purchasing Artis Wall is like purchasing a piece of furniture," says Kimmerle. "It’s an investment in a nice piece of décor which moves with you from home to home, unlike most wall coverings which are left behind or demolished."