Architectural Salvage companies have been around for nearly fifty years now, but it’s the “Green” movement that is bringing them into the mainstream as a true option for recycling building materials and lessening the amount of these items from going into our landfills.

For the first time in 2007, RKE Publishing took on the heavy task of publishing the most comprehensive directory of Architectural Salvage companies in the U.S. and Canada. Prior to this directory, the salvage industry was little known and perceived to be more of a, dare I say, underground community of “junkers” and/or fanatical preservationists with a pension for hording all things old. Think back to the 70s show Sanford and Son and you’ll have a pretty good idea of our reputation.

Today, with TV shows like ABC’s Extreme Makeover Home Addition, HGTV’s numerous design shows, and Oprah’s favorite decorator, Nate Berkus, architectural salvage and antiques are being incorporated into everyday designs. Architectural salvage is a sustainable resource. When going green, consider the reuse aspect of architectural salvage in your building plans.

Some of the more popular options for reclaimed salvage are timber beams for rustic or loft ceilings, gymnasium floors reused in new home construction (one of my personal favorites), Victorian archways and room dividers for added interior detail and kitchen cabinetry. Pedestal and cast iron farm sinks are popular and interior and exterior doors. I am constantly trying to track down a realistic statistic for the amount of solid wood doors that are going into our landfills. I use one half of a set of solid oak pocket doors from a three flat in Chicago as my desk, but one project that sticks in my mind was a pair of pocket doors installed in a Chicago loft. They were hung from a track that allowed the owner to create moving walls to suit the space he needed for entertaining and yet still have some privacy in a loft setting. Truly genius.