One of my addictions loves is architectural salvage. I decorate with old house parts, that’s my “thing.” It’s the way I add some character, depth and charm to my otherwise boxy suburban home. I love chippy. I treasure worn and tattered. To me, nothing is more beautiful than a piece of history from an old home. Back in the time when carpenters took pride in their work, when a house was more than plywood and concrete blocks covered in stucco, when there wasn’t a deadline of a few months to complete a house. When homes had charm. Those are the homes I dream of. Of course Mr B doesn’t get it. He is ever the hootless one, not giving, nor having a hoot to give about decor, charm or history. He likes clean and modern. Not that there’s a thing wrong with that. Clean and modern fits him. He’s a clean and modern man and I adore him. And he’s tolerant of my lust for things with history, or as he says; “old crap.” He’s my go-to carpenter, the one I turn to for making things. He’s the King of eye rolls and mutterings but he’s also the King at figuring out the weird angles and how to make old things fit together to make new things.

Decorating your home with old crap architectural treasure is easy. Architectural salvage is to farmhouse design what diamonds were to Elizabeth Taylor. A necessity. I started picking up the odd pieces of salvage in the 80’s before it became the hot new thing. Back then I could get glass door knobs for a few dollars a box. Corbels? No problem. Ceiling tin, almost free. I can’t afford any of those things anymore. A pair of chippy, peeling corbels now fetch three figures. Shutters in the 80’s could be picked up for free. Now?  No way. Old doors? Vendors practically gave them away.  Now? Finding them in my immediate area for less than $100 is rare. These are the things I dig for in dumpsters. Literal trash heaps, people. I have no shame. But I do have sturdy shoes and gloves in the back of my car for picking.

So what are my favorites? Old door trim. Corbels, windows, vintage doors, old shutters, ceiling tin, cabinet doors, and armoire parts. These things are decorating gold, maybe even decorating platinum. Including these things in your home can be as easy as adding picture wire to the back of a cabinet door and hanging it from a nail or hook. Or it may involve taking something apart, to create something entirely different.  Using a mostly rotten door for parts. Removing broken glass from a window and replacing it with mirror.  Old ceiling tin can be used on its own as decor, to line the back of a cabinet or for a back splash in a kitchen or bathroom. Look at old, crusty broken parts with new eyes, try to see not what they are now, but what they could be.

I use my salvage for all sorts of things, the a fore mentioned, easy, hang it as decor project, and I’ve Mr B has taken apart many an old thing to turn it into something else I needed wanted for the house. I have a  huge tiny pile of old crap (depending on who is describing the size of the pile), in the garage for creating new things.  Amazing what’s in there. Bits and bobs of assorted hardware thingies, door parts, a couple few windows, some broken pieces of random wood. It’s GLORIOUS!!!!! But how can these things be used to add charm?

SHUTTERS:  oh, the love of shutters. Lean working ones in a window for privacy instead of the normal blinds. Or build a frame for them that fits inside a working window for a more finished look. I just lean mine in case I want to change my look or use them for another project. Shutters can be hung on a wall as art. Or used as part of a console table, attach legs to the bottom and cover the top with glass. Easy peasy. They make handy holders for mail and cards.

DOORS: I LOVE doors. I so want to use old doors in place of new ones throughout my home…… Because I love and live with the hootless one I I use them instead for their charm, again, leaning up on a wall or used to make tables, benches and headboards. Partially rotted ones can be salvaged for parts, I use part of a door with vintage hooks for my towels in the guest bath. The center panels are used as bathtub trays, or on the dining room table in addition to, or instead of, a table runner.

CABINET DOORS: As wall art, or to act as the backing to framed photos or art. Those with glass can be used to make in new cabinets or remove the glass and add mirror. Or make a small table, top a treadle base with a cabinet door for an instant side or console table. Or use one to create a sign.

WINDOWS: If you are aren’t using windows, as…well, windows, lean them in front of your charmless windows. (Do you detect a trend here, with all the leaning of things?) Stained glass windows make wonderful wall art, hung in a group or individually, they are beautiful in their own right. Windows as mirrors. Windows as the top for a display table. Build a box to fit your window, add legs, hinge the window and attach it to the box base. Add memorabilia or faux succulents. Or just hang them as art. A large empty wall is a perfect place for a grouping of windows.

CEILING TIN: Wall art. Back splash. Magnet boards. Back a cabinet or bookcase with pieces of tin cut to fit.

CORBELS: Hang at interior doorways or the entrance to a hall. They make beautiful book ends. I use them on top of my bookcase and entertainment center as objets de art to add interest.

There is virtually no end to what a creative mind can come up with in re-using architectural salvage. So get yourself some old crap decorating gold. Go dumpster diving. Haunt salvage shops. Make friends with the owner or supervisor of local construction companies and find out when old homes are going to be taken down, ask if you can salvage the doors and windows, etc.  Add charm and interest to your home. Create the home you see in your heart.

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