Boston — Salvaged building materials can almost always be re-used in their traditional way, but are also often creatively repurposed in new and different ways as unique and eco-conscious design elements in residential as well as commercial projects. Hotels, condominiums, businesses, offices, restaurants, gardens and outdoor landscapes often rely upon recycled antique materials and artifacts in restoration, renovation, and decoration projects. A heightened appreciation for the craftsmanship of architectural antiques, coupled with a growing commitment to preserve both our heritage and our environment has inspired an increased demand for these vintage salvaged materials. They are coveted for their beauty…quality… scarcity..history… and authenticity …and also because they are unique, as well as “green” building alternatives. At the same time, these one-of –a-kind, reclaimed relics can also be far more cost effective!
Restoration Resources located at 1946 Washington St. in Boston’s historical South End carries an expansive selection of quality and one-of-a-kind salvaged items that include marble and wood fireplace mantels, wood and iron elements; authentic antique hardware; period doors; religious items; interesting furniture; original lighting fixtures; beautiful mirrors; stained and leaded glass windows; bath fixtures and décor; dramatic statuary and garden accents and unique artifacts
Restoration Resources, has been in business for more than 20 years, and has earned the reputation as New England’s primary source for antique architectural salvage, fixtures, and unique décor. The store has been awarded “Best of Boston, by Boston Home” in 2010 and 2011, and garnered substantial media attention over the years, appearing on national broadcast and cable television programs such as Emmy award winning WGBH programs, “This Old House”, and “Ask This Old House”, ABC’s/Channel 5’s local Chronicle, and cable networks NECN and HGTV. At the same time, Restoration Resources has received media recognition in more than 25 publications, including Better Homes and Garden, Old House Interiors, Old House Journal, the Boston Globe, Boston Magazine, and New England Home magazine. Also, just recently, ABC’s, The Nate Berkus Show, chose Restoration Resources as one of the top 3 Architectural Salvage Stores in the country and showed a video tour of the store as part of a segment dedicated to using salvaged items as design elements in new ways!
Owner Bill Raymer initially “rescues” his collection of design elements and old house parts from historical sites, noteworthy commercial buildings, period homes, mansions, and churches throughout the New England area, and then showcases these relics in his well organized 7000 square foot showroom and warehouse located in Boston. Boston City Hospital, South Station, the Massachusetts State House, Boston College, Our Lady of Pity Church in Cambridge, the old Boston Police Station, and the Paramount Theatre in Boston’s old theater district are just a few of the New England buildings where an assortment of antique items have been carefully removed and then added to the eclectic collection found at Restoration Resources. Vintage treasures include 5 foot building urns, an alter, plaster-winged cherubs, iron gates, frosted glass novelty doors, an old phone booth, antique sconces and lighting fixtures. Most items can have still be re-used in traditional ways, but many have also been repurposed as unique accent pieces, ornamental elements and architectural décor to compliment a variety of exterior as well as interior design concepts in non-residential locations throughout the Greater Boston area.
Some of the customers involved in commercial projects include restaurant owners, architects, interior decorators, hotel owners, landscape designers and contractors. In fact, while contractors drop by the store to purchase salvaged building materials, in some cases they also use the store’s recycling center to drop off materials from a building or home that they are in the process of demolishing or renovating, which allows them to also receive LEED points.
While the store itself is renowned nationwide as a retail treasure trove of architectural antiques and unique decor, owner, Bill Raymer and his talented design team are considered architectural salvage experts, well seasoned in renovation and restoration They provide important tips and guidance on how to integrate salvaged items into a new location, so customers can reuse them in the way they were originally intended to be used. Antique building ornaments, a beautiful stained glass window or an ornately carved door from a Beacon Hill Brownstone adds character and charm to any setting, and may find a new home at the entrance to an office building. And a gorgeous vintage marble or wooden fireplace mantel may be re-located to the lobby of a hotel or condominium complex, while a 17 foot bar from a Rhode Island saloon may end up in a Boston area restaurant or bar.
With regards to the hospitality industry, Restoration Resources has provided unique artifacts and salvaged items such as paneling, leaded and stain glass, decorative iron, hardware, windows, doors, and antique lighting fixtures to numerous Boston area restaurants and bars, including British Beer Company, Citizen Public House, Stoddards Fine Food and Ale, Cafe Marliave, and Bill’s Restaurant. While salvage can almost always be reused in traditional ways, Raymer and his staff have also seen a growing trend of reusing, and repurposing salvaged relics in new and creative ways. Old building columns, Stained and frosted glass windows, and doors, have been repurposed as attractive partitions and are also used in unique and different ways to upgrade or sub-divide a space. A Decorative granite stair part with the City of Boston Insignia that was removed from Boston City Hospital, was repurposed as a unique garden “bench” at the pedestrian entrance to the retail shops and galleries at Thayer St. in the Sowa district of Boston .
Currently Bill Raymer and his staff are part of a Steampunk by Design team charged with completely renovating and designing one of the entertainment rooms at Audio Concepts in Boston, which is scheduled to be finished in March of 2012. (Audio Concepts was recently awarded Best Showroom in the Country!) Steampunk artists across the country are repurposing and recrafting period pieces to accommodate and embrace technology. Raymer is working with a Steampunk team in Boston, led by Steampunk guru, Bruce Rosenbaum. Projects include the repurposing of the frame from an old Victorian mirror and recrafting it to surround a plasma tv, while the hearth of an old fireplace mantel will be crafted to house all of the audio and video components.
Bill Raymer is chock full of ideas and advise on how to repurpose antique salvage. He highlighted some of the items currently for sale at his store, and shared different ways to recycle finds from Restoration Resources and re-use them as functional as well as decorative accents in commercial settings.
Twelve Ideas on re-using antique salvage in commercial settings:
- Replacing a run-of-the mill, entrance door in an office with an unusual antique door
- Hanging a stain glass window on a wall as “architectural art” in a lobby, or in front of an outside facing window for beauty and privacy
- Swapping out dull or ordinary office doors using antique hardware and unusual or elaborately carved vintage doors to make a statement for a main entrance, conference room or CEO office
- Repurposing an old medical cabinet or kitchen Hoosier as an attractive and interesting conversation piece that can be reused as a supply unit, coffee and lunch cabinet or CEO liquor cabinet
- Using unique tables for desks, or an old library type table for a conference room
- Trading drab glaring light fixtures for antique unusual ceiling fixtures and wall sconces (which can also help improve employee productivity)
- Making unique walls or cubicles from old doors, paneling, wainscoting, shutters etc.
- Making a statement on an open wall space and also “enlarge” an area at the same time with distinctive mirrors, or create intrigue by adding carved architectural elements and columns etc.
- Completing an empty drab wall space with a one of a kind fireplace mantel
- Furnishing a hotel lobby or CEO office with a gorgeous mahogany desk repurposed from an old piano, or replace an ordinary
- Surrounding a flat screen tv with a beautiful antique mirror frame or elaborately carved molding
- Using unusual old or antique chairs in your waiting area
