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Our world. Our environment. Our home.

Each is a reflection of how we choose to live. At Carlisle, we’ve always believed that “Green” means the responsible and accountable use – and reuse – of all our natural resources.

When we craft our antique flooring, we are not only giving this treasured resource the second life it deserves. We are also helping reduce the stress on our forests, and we are proud that our efforts to care for the environment have been nationally recognized by the Forest Stewardship Council.

Put simply, we believe that the living surface we create inside your home should reflect and respect the living surface nature created outside your home.

Reclaiming history.

Carlisle’s process of recycling antique wood starts with the close relationships we’ve fostered with our suppliers to identify structures slated for destruction. Once the old timber structures are inspected and chosen as being suitable for Carlisle’s high standards the barn is carefully dismantled, transported to a lumberyard, and expertly crafted into planks by a professional sawyer. The sawyer first cuts the face of the wood to determine the look of the floor. After that the wood is cut into wide planks, which are then kiln-dried, sized, and carefully graded. Finally, Carlisle’s milling artists hand-selects and finish-mills the wide planks to exacting specifications in preparation for installation. This Green process creates a look and feel that harkens back to days gone by.

We love our wide plank antique floors so much and take heart in knowing that the recycling process of these floors have been controlled from original barn to finished floor. After several months of enjoying our new purchase, we still walk through our home and admire the unique characteristics of each plank.
-Mary Daleo

Just like antiques in the furniture world, antique wood is in limited supply. As early American structures dwindle in population, so does the wood. And in the case of Chestnut the wood is all but gone in America today due to a blight from an Asian fungus dating back to 1904. Today most Chestnut trees only survive a few years in the forest before they die, making the preservation and reuse of this old timber of vital importance.

So the next time you think about a new floor for your home, consider the Green alternative of recycled wood ... it will preserve the history of the tree that once grew in the forest, the history of their original construction, and the history of your own home and family.