Reuse. Rehabilitate. Restore. Architectural salvage and repurposed pieces for the home.
I love it! A bathtub couch. A shopping cart chair. Reestore is so clever, they don’t need to use 100 year old salvage. They can make fine furnishings out of everyday crap!
The prices aren’t bad. The couch costs as much as a “regular” couch. Ok, it may not be the most comfortable thing in the world, but who cares? It’s fabulous! And your dog can’t chew it up.
Oh, one catch. Reestore is in the UK.
Via Inhabitat
I regularly check out the Green Demolitions site because they often have sales. Here’s what I found today:
Year End Sale: Luxury Appliances 60 – 75% off Market Price!
Famous Custom Home Decor: 75% off Market Price
Just Arrived: New-in-the-Box Famous Name Brand Whirlpools and tubs: all three stores
Famous Furniture Retailer Surplus – Norwalk, CT
But best of all…if you haven’t finished your holiday shopping…$100 gift cards on sale for $50. Can be purchased online.
I’ve seen brick floor tiles at Lowes and thought I liked them. My husband hated them. He thought they were “fake” looking. Now I’m not sure how I feel about them. They would be cool for a laundry room, mud room or patio, no?
The Lowes tiles were probably mass produced stuff. Brick Floor Tile Inc offers salvaged brick that has been sliced thin. Unless you have verrrry high ceilings, you wouldn’t want to use a full brick on an interior floor. I would also guess that it would be too difficult to level.
For other brick projects, two companies that sell antique bricks are Historical Brick and Old World Bricks. However, I’m not suggesting you purchase historic bricks. Look around for empty lots, dumpsters and tear downs for free ones. Also check Craigs and used building stores on a regular basis. I just did a search and did not come up with any, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be there tomorrow. Or the next day.
Brownstoner forum
This started out as a post on antique barnwood siding. I found Elmwood Reclaimed Timber via Luxury Housing Trends and set out to write about that. Nice, huh? See photo above.
I somehow came across Cunningham Lumber. They have reclaimed lumber as well as salvage, all at good price points. Ok, so they’re located in Texas. But lookie here what I’ve found….a list of links. Too many to sort through now, so your homework assignment is to narrow it down yourself. You know, local sources/inexpensive. It’s due by Thursday.
Related: Reclaimed Flooring
Our window has been looking like this for 2 years. And our porch still looks like this.
One of the things we fell in love with in our Beacon home was the wavy glass of the antique windows. Every window in the house is original wood, hardware and glass. Some of them don’t work too well and they are all terribly DRAFTY! But there was no way we’d ever even think of replacing them. So, we set out to restore them.Continue reading Keeping Your Antique Windows
Debra Salomon, the principal of 408 Design Group who organized Anatomy’s events, presented with Pietro Calabretta, owner of All Renovation, NY. The two have partnered on several projects.
Pietro spoke of the Greenstone Project, at 695 Degraw, which he worked on with Eitan Baron.
The home features Caesarstone countertops, dual flush toilets, energy star appliances and Fireclay shower floor tiles. We’ve covered all of those items in the past.
What we found most interested was the hot water return system Pietro mentioned. If we understood correctly, the system reuses the cold water wasted while waiting for the hot water to become hot.
Although all of the speakers shared valuable green building information, we found Debra’s subject matter closest to our hearts: old home restoration and salvaged materials.
She presented a design for an air conditioner cover which is an elaborate Victorian pier mirror housing the wall a/c unit. See photos for details.
Debra also showed us an antique butler’s pantry she and Pietro recreated in a brownstone as well as some gorgeous salvaged cabinets that are sitting in someone’s basement because they can’t use them. (Oy, I’ll take them off your hands.)
Ralph Gorham has been crafting tables in Red Hook, Brooklyn for years. The one time general contractor started out using common and exotic woods, but soon became aware of all the beautiful antique wood that was being discarded during demolition of old buildings in the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood.
The reclaimed wood is mainly from the beams of these old buildings. Species range from Douglas Fir to Long Leaf Heart Pine. Since salvage and sustainable building have become more popular, the beams are harder to come by. Once the wood is acquired, there is much preparation before building the tables. All nails (as many as oh, maybe…500!), bolts and lead paint must be removed before remilling. The boards are then aligned to make symmetrical patterns of the wood’s knots and grain.
A basic farm table, finished in tung oil, starts at $400 per linear foot, which translates to a few thousand for a table. Each peice is a one of a kind heirloom that weighs 300-400 pounds. There are a number of tables in stock. Custom tables, counter tops or cabinets can be ordered. Everything is 100% recycled. Even the scraps get used for smaller projects.
Hudson Valley Materials Exchange, a not for profit environmental organization, is being evicted. The building surplus and craft supplies warehouse located at Stewart Airport is getting the boot due to airport expansion. Although personally, I’m happy to travel a traffic free 10 minute drive from Beacon to Jet Blue when I visit my folks in Florida, I hate to see them being displaced. They are a great asset to homeowners and artisans in the area.
The Exchange will be closed for the winter and they’re currently looking for volunteers to help with everything from sorting and packing to renovations to getting the word out (hey, I just did that while sitting on my ass!). You can also dig into your pockets and make a donation. They’ve set up PayPal so you can donate online.
We hope to see them back in action soon!
I’m a total preservationist when it comes to antiques, yet I get this. It’s groovy baby. Yeah. Quite a few London designers are giving antique pieces a new life by vandalizing them.
German, Dutch trained designer Martin Baas is burning chairs, Burke and Hazelden are painting graffiti on armoires and Le Tramac is upholstering day beds in high gloss colorful PVC.
I hope they are only working with pieces that are beyond restoration, but I have a feeling that’s not always the case.
I paint furniture sometimes. My criteria is:
1. The wood has to be so severely damaged that most of the piece would need to be faux painted.
2. Ugly wood. Never a nice piece to begin with.
3. Parts missing that need to be replaced with new wood. If it’s an otherwise perfect and valuable piece of furniture or home detail, I’ll find an antique piece of wood to match.
Previously, we did a DIY on repainting cabinets. We didn’t go over the faux technique we used on these cheapest of cheap Home Depot jobbies we salvaged from the house. Our tenant who inherited the cabinets told us that everyone who comes to visit asks about them. So, we figured we’d share.Continue reading DIY: Antique Glazing Cabinets
Here’s another materials exchange for ya.
Throwplace is a website where individuals and businesses can list items for donation. All items are FREE! Registration and listings: FREE!
There are four sections: US Charity, International Charity, Business and Up For Grabs. Individuals cannot take from the charity sections. You can browse the listings and classifieds, but must be registered to donate or request items.
Happy hunting!
How did I miss this one? NYC Stuff Exchange launched their site in May, but they’ve had a phone hotline for years.
The City of New York offers way for residents to search for places throughout the city where they can donate, sell, buy, rent, or repair gently used items. The goal is to help lessen the City’s waste by encouraging the recycling of materials that might otherwise end up in the dump.
There is an events calendar where you can search or submit sales run by non profit organizations.
After reporting on the upcoming Brooklyn Flea Market, I couldn’t believe how many people said to me “Oh, 26th Street is gone? I didn’t know that.” Well, here’s the deal…
The 26th Street parking lot which was home to the Annex Flea Market no longer exists. They paved paradise and put up a luxury condo. There is still a smaller market on 25th Street between 5th and 6th Avenues. Around the corner from that remains the Antiques Garage, located at 112 W 25th Street. Open weekends.
The original Annex of 26th Street has moved to Hell’s Kitchen. Located on 39th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues, it’s open Saturdays and Sundays.
Kapeesh?
I caught this on Dot Earth via Treehugger.
A Zen Buddhist Temple in Ann Arbor, Michigan goes dumpster diving to raise money for their temple. They polish up the items, whether it be clothing or furnishings and sell it at their annual yard sale.
From this article, I found the Environmental Report which lead me to the Wiki How Tips on Dumpster Diving.
A few cardinal rules:
* Do not leave a mess!
* Know the law. Sometimes trash is considered private property and homeowners or businesses can call the cops.
* Be careful. There could be broken glass and other sharp objects. And rats.
* Wear the right cloths. Bring a car. Clean all items thoroughly.
* Late night and early mornings are best.
I’ve found doors, coffee tables, a newell post and paintings in the trash. My favorite find was the highly detailed Victorian toilet someone threw out in Park Slope. I nearly caused an accident stopping for that one!
From Brownstoner yesterday:
Coming this April, Brownstoner will be organizing a new flea market in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn. Based on the now defunct 26th Street Market in Chelsea, the weekly flea will feature antiques, salvage and vintage items. They are also toying with the idea of having a local organic food court.
Council member Tish James has been helping with the project, which will be held every Sunday in the 40,000 square foot school yard of Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School.
How psyched am I? So psyched that I sent in my registration for a space. Reclaimed Home participated in Brownstoner’s Salvage Fest back in September 2007 and it was a great success.
Brownstoner is accepting vendor applications now, so if you’re interested….