Barn wood stolen to meet demand for farmhouse-chic decor

Lois and Ann Coffey look at the gaps in Lois's barn
after thieves stole boards. (CJ photo by Matt Stone)

Farmhouse chic is all the rage in home decor these days, and some people are willing to turn to crime to help urban and suburban decorators get the look. Rural residents in several states report that thieves have been stealing the weathered wood from their barns in recent months, Tessa Duvall reports for the Courier Journal in Louisville, Ky.

"Sheriffs across the state have seen some barns stripped down to their frames and aluminum roofs. Law enforcement officials say there’s not much they can do to stop the thieves or to track down the wood," Duvall reports. "But it has become such a problem that buyers of weathered wood have taken to asking for W-9 tax forms from those looking to sell." Wholesalers buy the wood for up to $2 per board foot.

A few cases have been reported in Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Ohio, South Carolina, and Tennessee, but the phenomenon is hitting Kentucky the hardest, since the Bluegrass State has more old barns per square mile than any other state, Duvall reports. That's probably because Kentucky has had more tobacco farmers than any other state; barns in Southern Kentucky, where thefts have been heaviest, typically house livestock, hay, equipment and, during tobacco-curing season, tobacco. Some are used only during that season.

Residents whose barn wood has been stolen are frustrated that law enforcement can't do much to catch the thieves. Most thefts happen at night, and barns are usually in remote areas where no one is likely to catch thieves in the act. Lois "Nan" Coffey of Burkesville put up cameras and floodlights around her tobacco barn after thieves stole part of it. Her daughter, Ann Coffey, told Duvall she put a notice in the local weekly newspaper about it. "Everybody knew that barn wood was being taken, but the Cumberland County News didn’t have anything about it," Coffey said.