Fans of such TV home renovation shows as “Fixer Upper,” “Design on a Dime” and “Property Brothers” are familiar with the term “architectural salvage.” But if you’re not, it’s the booming business of reclaiming, upcycling and repurposing architectural building materials. The architectural salvage marketplace, once the sole province of old-house owners and a curiosity to nearly everyone else, is going mainstream in a big way.
As the desire to purchase high-end homes increases, consumers may seek to add an historical touch to their milestone purchase by incorporating architectural salvage. Upcycled antique fixtures ranging from vintage tin ceilings and historic chandeliers to porcelain bathtubs and refurbished flooring add the perfect sustainable transformation to these newly acquired residences.
“We treasure-hunt and upcycle from the most prestigious New York historic hotels, Broadway theaters and prominent commercial buildings to rustic barns, industrial warehouses and vintage shops in order to create a most unique retail experience for our customers,” said Jim DiGiacomo of Olde Good Things, a leading architectural salvage company with retail stores in New York and Los Angeles.
On any given day, he continued, shoppers might include an architect looking for antique French doors, a restaurant designer looking for industrial chicken wire glass and unusual factory doors, a decorator trying to find a set of lights for over a kitchen island or millennials shopping for unique items from the past.
“Urban dwellers snatch up things like bar carts made of reclaimed pine, large mirrors framed with repurposed copper or tin ceiling tiles and rare pieces of wooden furniture, while others may covet the cast iron ball-and-claw bathtubs or porcelain faucets,” DiGiacomo said. “Some recent finds have been limestone gargoyles from the perch of a Park Avenue building.”
Those interested in revamping their home to create a more sophisticated and authentic style may wish to start their design search at their local salvage shop.
“Salvaged from old buildings or junkyards, these items ensure a home’s uniqueness,” said George DeMarco, real estate agent with Halstead Manhattan. “They can boost resale value if done well. Walking into new construction and seeing a blast from the architectural past often can make just enough difference in the buyer’s mind to help make the sale.”
Incorporating large artifacts into a 21st century home demands the use of skilled craftsmen. Unlike demolition, architectural deconstruction requires finesse instead of sheer force. Reusable items such as tin ceilings, large mirrors and intricate cabinetry can lose their value if they are damaged during the salvage process. To recover more than 250 fireplace mantels from New York’s Waldorf-Astoria hotel, for example, Olde Good Things workers had to cut fasteners in the wall, extricate the mantels, and store them safely on site until they were transported to a warehouse or retail operation.
Olde Good Things also salvaged the treasured stained-glass windows from the old JFK Airport American Airlines Terminal Eight. Designed by renowned stained-glass artist Robert Sowers, it was a time-intensive and precise salvage job that left the windows virtually intact. Today, sections of these famed stained-glass panels are being incorporated into modern-day interior design such as room dividers and wall art.
Salvaged items can add a sense of history to a new residential apartment, noted Michael Cohen of Michael J. Cohen Interiors, a New York-based residential interior design company.
“Introducing historical items such as a stained-glass casement window or repurposed industrial halophane lighting, can add character to an otherwise cookie cutter city space,” Cohen observed.
Although preservationists bemoan the loss of the distinctive buildings that supply the inventory for architectural salvage, the greatest appeal for consumers is the chance to acquire house parts with a pedigree.
“People like to point to an antique mantelpiece or flooring and say that it came from an old button factory,” Cohen added. “They like the stories behind the pieces.”
New York condo owner Shelley Fox bought antique French doors to separate the kitchen from the dining area and added six tin ceiling tiles as a grouping on her living room wall. Then there is that bootmaker’s rack from the early 1900s that Fox retrofitted into a convenient place to store her vast wine collection.
“The next thing I intend to add is a fireplace mantel even though my new building doesn’t have fireplaces,” she noted. “I just love the cozy feeling that comes from the look of a fireplace. I’m going to add an electric crackling wood log hearth.”
Essentially, it all comes down to a treasure hunt, said Michael Laudati, a New York-based designer specializing in restoring historic Manhattan residential building lobbies to the original beauty of a bygone era.
“You never know what you’re going to find or where you’re going to find it when you shop for architectural salvage,” Laudati said. Among his latest salvaged discoveries are a hand-hammered copper ceiling fixture, a Renaissance Revival fireplace mantel and a wrought iron gas light fixture from the 1880s.
Treasure hunting at the local flea market, antique store or salvage shop, whether you go alone, or with your designer or architect, can often turn up the most interesting and memorable items — things that you never thought would fit into your design scheme yet, once repurposed, can make your home truly personalized and inviting.
How about an industrial vintage factory cart repurposed into a coffee table? Or old red barn doors turned into room dividers? Or if you’re just getting started, how about adding vintage opalescent glass or brass doorknobs and hardware?
If quality, uniqueness and bragging rights aren’t enough reason to join the hunt, factor in the sense of buying a bit of history and nostalgia along with the idea that repurposing is a very smart way to go green.
