The Art of Salvage

Awhile back, I was looking for an old or unique door and, in my search, I discovered some amazing salvage websites that were great resources for more than just doors. Some salvage companies are very practical and carry just about everything you would need to build or remodel your house - one such company is Omega Salvage in Berkeley, California. You can find used brick for your patio, vintage pedestal sinks and faucets for your bathroom, vintage tiles for your kitchen backsplash, mantles for your fireplace...the list goes on. You can even find stone slab remnants, which are great when you have one small vanity to cover. Other salvage companies I came across are a bit more specialized and dedicated to certain products such as lighting or hardware. PW Vintage has a wonderful selection of vintage lighting and Liz's Antique Hardware has everything from doorknobs and cabinet hardware to mail slots and medicine chests. Both companies carry reproductions as well. What got me most excited about the world of savage was the possibility of using it as art! One of my favorite discoveries is Garden Park Antiques. They specialize in architectural antiques and create unique pieces of furniture and art using the antiques they source worldwide. One of my favorite pieces is a coffee table made from a vintage industrial truck pallet recovered from a landmark building. I also love how they have taken this vintage wooden pulley wheel and turned it into a unique piece of art. Garden Park Antiques also has large inventory of garden antiques, architectural antiques and antique ironwork in it's original form so that you can use the pieces in your own imaginative way. One of things I think I'm going to do this spring is use an antique gate as a trellis for clematis vine and feature it in my garden! I'm definitely going to start incorporating more salvage pieces in my designs both in a functional and artistic manner. It's a great way to find distinctive and original pieces and is also a very creative way of joining the green-building craze by reusing existing materials and giving them a new life. photos courtesy of Garden Park Antiques