Custom furniture to reclaimed materials, North Jersey business gives old wood new life

Yahoo

29-03-2025

One person's trash is another person's treasure, and Real Antique Wood is dedicated to finding that trash and transforming it into a new treasure, one historic structure at a time.
This Irvington-based salvage company and mill shop takes materials from otherwise unwanted structures — mostly vintage barns, but also homes, boats and other old buildings — and repurposes them into everything from reclaimed hardwood flooring, antique barn siding, custom fireplace mantels and one-of-a-kind furniture pieces.
Located on Cordier Street just off of Interstate 78, Real Antique Wood was founded in 2011 by Gary and Lisa Horvath. Since then, the business has had a hand in dismantling more than 120 barns, most of which are more than 100 years old, in places as far away as Indonesia.
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"With our setup of the shop, we're luckily able to see it from start to finish. We're able to see it from the dismantling and the deconstruction to the processing, as well as to the installation of the product. So it's kind of like a one-stop shop, and that's definitely what we've always kind of prided ourselves on," said Anthony Saraceno, a master craftsman who has been with the company since it opened.
When it comes to sourcing their materials, Saraceno said it's mostly based on word of mouth. They receive a lot of tips from property owners that have unwanted structures, as well as construction companies and demolition contractors.
Once they find a property they're interested in, the team at Real Antique Wood will travel to the site — which can be located nearby in North Jersey or anywhere across the country — and take the structure apart. They then bring that material back to the shop, remove any metal contaminants, sterilize it in their kiln and add it to their inventory to await its next chapter, Saraceno said.
"We try to keep all of the pieces that we reclaim as original as possible until somebody calls for it or it's able to be used in a project," he said. "Then from there, the big thing is we let our clients dictate what we make based on what they need, and we tailor our process to execute the final look of what they're going for."
While the shop does have a 5,000-square-foot showroom where visitors can pick up "grab-and-go" goods like pieces of reclaimed wood, wall covering materials, live edge slabs and premade furniture items, Real Antique Wood primarily specializes in custom projects.
One of these custom projects was for Rey Sol Coffee in Ridgewood, where Saraceno said they essentially outfitted the whole space with reclaimed hardwood floors, a wood herringbone-patterned coffee bar and a live-edge serving shelf. Another was when they worked with a local builder in Harding to install anywhere from 16 to 18 of their reclaimed wood ceiling beams for a rustic touch to a newly built home.
"We also just finished a project out on the tip of Rhode Island. The clients came in through a referral, saw some materials that they liked in the showroom and it turned out that we would end up supplying them about 52 sizable beams for their ceiling to furnish their new home with," he said. "So that was kind of one of those things where you never really know what's coming down the tubes."
Overall, Saraceno said they're passionate about giving these materials a new life because of how high-quality and unique they are compared to what's typically available now. Similarly, he said there's nothing better than being able to put together a one-of-a-kind piece for someone that comes with a unique story behind it.
"We're a small, tight-knit crew. There's seven of us all together. And we're beyond luck to be able to have the opportunity to do what we do," he said. "People love the idea of reusing and repurposing, and I'll say that takes them far enough to get them to our door, and then they come in here and truly feel our love for what we do. And that just kind of lights a fire. It becomes contagious and it gets the folks excited."
Maddie McGay is the real estate reporter for NorthJersey.com and The Record, covering all things worth celebrating about living in North Jersey. Find her on Instagram @maddiemcgay, on X @maddiemcgayy, and sign up for her North Jersey Living newsletter. Do you have a tip, trend or terrific house she should know about? Email her at [e-mail].
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Real Antique Wood in NJ brings wood from old structures back to life