Love the look of upcycled furniture and reclaimed wood furniture? Want to go ‘green’ with your furniture buys? That’s awesome! We see a lot of furniture and wood that would otherwise go to landfills in our junk removal business. As part of our service, we recycle materials and send furniture to the right places for reuse. And, frankly, our job ends there. However, there are fabulous people we never meet who take over in these scenarios, turning old materials into beautiful furniture. We’re not just talking about used furniture stores or antiques either; this article is dedicated to shops that specifically sell upcycled or reclaimed wood furniture in the Vancouver area.
If you’ve wanted to know how to find them, here are 11 to start with!
1) J&S Reclaimed Wood Custom Furniture
Unit 43 – 1640 East Kent Ave. south, Vancouver, BC
As it says in their name, this company makes custom furniture from reclaimed wood. So, it’s not exactly a store you can walk into to find a bunch of pre-made, ready-to-take-home pieces. That said, they do help you figure out what you need for sizing in your space, though you’re likely the one that will need to do the measuring. They can also help you create wood furniture you saw online, or something you’re imagining for your home, and it’s nice to have that truly personal touch when you just can’t replicate it any other way.
The material used to make their reclaimed furniture in Vancouver is from old homes and construction waste. But, as random as that sounds, they do have sample pieces, so you can get an idea of what to expect with your finished product.
2) Farmhouse Collections
1098 S.W. Marine Drive
Vancouver, BC V6P 5Z3
http://farmhousecollections.com/
This is another local business in the city making custom furniture from reclaimed materials. However, this Vancouver furniture shop has a showroom where they also sell other used home goods, like antique lighting, decorative pieces, upholstered chairs and couches plus upcycled furniture that has been painted or re-imagined, somehow. They’ve also got stuff you can use when junk gardening, like old planters and outdoor-friendly, vintage knick knacks.
Sometimes, this shop will use new materials in their furniture, but we noticed it’s usually a mix with reclaimed stuff too.
3) Studio 126
In Vancouver by appointment only (no address given)
An independent, custom-furniture maker that uses salvaged wood, and this time, “hand-welded steel” too. So, this would be a great place to go if you want more of the ‘industrial’ look to your made-in-Vancouver, reclaimed wood furniture.
Like other wood furniture makers, this company also does consultations and tailored pieces, including stationary home furniture like kitchen islands. Once you make your deposit, the beautiful, old wood you’ve chosen (presumably in the consultation process) is yours for the making…the making of your reclaimed furniture, that is.
Strangely, the phone number on this website uses an Edmonton area code, but advertises it’s located in Vancouver. With no address shown, we couldn’t quite figure this one out. But, it came up in our search, so we thought to mention it anyway.
4) West Coast Wood Slabs
79 West 3rd Avenue
Vancouver, BC, V5Y 3T8
http://www.westcoastwoodslabs.com/
Here’s a neat concept: take old trees and logs that have fallen down or are no longer needed, cut them up, dry them in a kiln, and then make furniture out of them! The result is beautiful, reclaimed, wood slab and live-edge furniture. And this company specializes in doing just that.
At West Coast Wood Slabs, you can walk into a showroom during select hours to see one-of-a-kind, locally-made reclaimed furniture. However, they mostly do custom work, so you may not see regular inventory at this shop, the way you would at a typical furniture store. If you’re time strapped, we’d recommend calling in to ask how much inventory they have available before driving out to see them.
5) Blueberry Meadows Furniture
102 – 9233 Glover Road, Fort Langley
Unit 110, 33780 Essendene Ave, Abbotsford
If you drive out to the Fraser Valley, you can find this treasure hove of reclaimed wood furniture collections. Yes, we wrote “collections” – meaning, they have a lot. While upcycled and reclaimed furniture in Vancouver can come in ‘coastal’ or ‘modern’ takes, this company makes ‘rustic’ it’s signature style. If you like the ‘farmhouse’, and ‘cottage’ look, this is your haven.
Their website also claims they have the “lowest prices on FSC Reclaimed Wood Furniture & Salvaged Timber Furniture.” So that’s a bonus!
6) Renaissance Home
201-20560 Langley Bypass
Langley, BC V3A 6K8
https://www.renaissancehome.ca/
From their website alone, it’s hard to find information on this store, or their furniture pieces. Their motto is “Reclaimed | New | Vintage.” So by that, we assume they may have at least some recycled or upcycled furniture. They have a large showroom, with plenty to pick however, so it may be worth checking out.
7) Homestead Furniture
3058 Saint Johns Street,
Port Moody, BC V3H 2C5
https://homesteadfurniturebc.com/collections/driftwood-walnut-collaboration
This furniture store in Port Moody uses a company called P.G.T. Reclaimed to provide a line of FSC® Certified recycled wood furniture. While the store seems to be local, the reclaimed furniture line sells around the world, and this shop is just one of their retailers. Also keep in mind, the reclaimed section of their store is just one part – they sell other brands too.
8) Antique Market
1324 Franklin St
Vancouver, BC V5L1N9
https://antiquemarket.ca/french-country-salvaged-wood
This is another store in the Vancouver area that sells reclaimed furniture as just one part of their business. They bundle it together with their “French Country” section. They also say that much of their industrial-style furniture uses repurposed material too. It’s worth mentioning that while not all of their inventory is upcycled or eco-friendly per se, they do have a large selection of unique finds for the home, including imported antique furniture from around the world.
9) The Upcycled Studio
In Maple Ridge by appointment only (no address given)
https://www.theupcycledstudio.com/
This is the business of an independent furniture upcycler, named Brittany. She takes old furniture and gives it new life with paint and stains. And boy, does she do a good job of it! You can find Pinterest-worthy examples of her work on her website (linked to above).
Brittany says she doesn’t rinse her brushes by pouring water down a sink. Instead, she cleans them in buckets and then takes the “dirty water to be properly disposed of.” So, that’s a plus for the environment.
10) The Passionate Home
20528 Fraser Hwy, Langley, BC V3A 4G2
https://www.thepassionatehome.com/
This is a storefront furniture shop that sells upcycled and repurposed pieces. They also have furniture that uses reclaimed wood and neat vintage finds. If you’re into doing your own furniture upcycling, they offer Chalk Paint™ lessons and workshops on upholstery, for learning how to make home decor. To top it off, you can buy jewelry and clothing here. But that’s a side point.
11) Craiglist, Kijiji & Classified sites
This is an obvious one. Being that the upcycled and reclaimed furniture industry is full of one-of-a-kind finds, it’s no wonder your search can begin in a central spot – the ever-useful classified sites. While there may be independent furniture upcyclers selling their pieces this way, it wouldn’t be surprising if you stumbled across a local store-front or studio business listing their stock on sites like this too. So, while it’s not like walking into a store for a day of eco-friendly furniture shopping in Vancouver, it can be a way to keep your eye open for the perfect piece that ‘speaks’ to you, when you see it.
As we can see, Vancouver is full of reclaimed and recycled furniture. Perhaps it’s not surprising, being a metropolis that is so environmentally-conscious. But more than being eco-friendly, these types of furniture buys are truly artistic, adding a bit of personality to your home than you’d otherwise get at big-box retailers. It may not be that you’ll furnish your whole home in repainted, used stuff. But it certainly ads a bit of flair to have that reclaimed table coupled with modern chairs, or an upcycled buffet cabinet storing away your dining sets.
Also remember that “upcycled” doesn’t have to mean ‘shabby chic’ or ‘rustic farmhouse’ either. These days, furniture upcycling can come in all sorts of clean, smooth and mature styles. So you don’t have to sacrifice your preferences to get something unique!
