In order to make room for the wide driveway on this Massachusetts project, a few of the site’s 100-foot-tall pine and oak trees had to be cut down, much to the dismay of builder and owner Bill Churchill of Sudbury, Mass.-based Strategy to Design. He decided to repurpose the wood for use inside the house.The trees were milled on site and kiln dried for use in the ceiling of the kitchen, dining room, and bedrooms. Oak paneling was added to the TV room. “It was an elegant way to keep the wood on site,” he says. “I was about to buy wood to use for the project, and I thought why not use the trees that are here already?”

Even though the home is LEED certified, Churchill says he did not receive points for repurposing the wood, but it went along with the project’s goal of sustainability, commitment to using recycled products, and drive for durability.