I’ve never met an old pair of doors or a random corbel that I wasn’t immediately drawn to. There is something about finding one of these elements propped up against a wall that sends my curiosity into overdrive and I’m drawn in...
In recent years the reclaimed industry has gone into over drive as cottage chic and farmhouse decor have become the go to style... but in truth the industry has been there for hundreds of years.. go to any historic site going back as far as your middle school text books will allow and you’ll see building materials salvaged and used by the next conquering civilizations.... from the Greeks to the Romans... dynasty after dynasty of Egyptian pharaohs... the English fort and castle builders... now they were notorious for pinching building materials and reusing them or building right on top of an earlier conquers work... “take that you bloody Romans”... course it took them a few hundred years... the spread of Christianity helped fuel some amazing re-use of materials which can be seen in the crypts of these ancient
monuments....
I love it all...
if I had my way I would use salvage as liberally as I could and I do tend to bring in wonderful old doors which I convert into barn doors, room dividers and entrance ways... I always keep a few pairs at the studio.. and if I find a great pair of oversized corbels with chippy paint on them I buy them and wait for that perfect project with high ceilings that need some beams added and some fab architectural elements to take it from boring to amazing to amazing.
When we built out my studio I was very specific about using architectural salvage to get the feeling I was after... giant cypress shutters with the original Cremone bolts hang as dividing doors between our conference room and the Studio.. Over size window sashes create a view out to the store and old turn of the century work tables were elevated onto platforms to make work counters... So don’t be afraid to buy those old doors or that great column and if your unsure where to place them for maximum effect call me... there is always a spot we can fit them in.
Tarrah for now...I’ll be out looking for chestnut beams...
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