While enjoying my morning coffee over the weekend I came across an episode of Bath Crashers. To my surprise, I happened to like the design in this particular episode. Unfortunately I can't find any photos depicting the end results of this episode. But that's neither here nor there. The important thing is I learned all about a new technique of charring wood planks. Which happens to be a century old Japanese fireproofing tradition called shou-sugi-ban or "burnt cedar board."
As you can see charring the wood for different lengths of time will result similarly to cooking a steak. Rare to medium to charred right off the coal grill. I love how the grain in the wood becomes more pronounced around the medium rare level.
Of course, I'm always interested in how pretty things are, but the purpose of charring the wood is actually interesting as well. Ready to get all scientific? The process known as oxidation, happens through scorching the wood, washing it down, and drying the wood to remove all it's moisture. This creates a protective barrier that doesn't allow oxygen in, hence the reason why it's hard to burn again being that air is an important variable to fueling a fire. Surprisingly you get a similar effect to how steel protects against fire.
On another level, this treatment protects against bugs and rot. Bonus!
Check out this look. Mixing the two different burnt levels of the charred wood together.
And let's not forget how this trend is creeping in to home décor. I'm completely obsessed with this Eskor lamp and bookends from Made Goods. Basically scorched wood encased in resin. How cool is that?
Not a clock person in the slightest, but I would definitely consider this one from Etsy.
Black on black color. Soft velvet on rustic burnt cedar. Not to mention the chevron pattern. Yea, that's sexy.
Images via:
Domaine Home
