Serious salvage collectors are rarely the kind of folks who feel the need to justify their commitment to the hunt. Doors, hardware, weathered wood, good brass and hand-forged anything are footnotes on the list of highly sought-after items hardcore reclaiming pros will rarely leave on the roadside. Equally rare is the occasion to renovate a kitchen and put to service the many finds a lifelong collection or obsession can amass. Here is just such a project, uncommon in its originality and enduring charm, made even better by a salvage pro’s commitment to the use of all things found.
While the need to remove the vintage cast-iron sink was a heartbreaker (it went directly into storage!), some ten feet of much needed counter space was claimed in the reworking of the sink area. Kept shallow to allow for passage into the charming back end, and access to the door to the outside, this simple design tactic simplified the perimeter, while providing for additional cabinets and an open shelf below. The cabinets and an open shelf below. The cabinet was built in place, and the door, which was taken from an existing cabinet, was simply trimmed to fit.
At the existing classic bungalow style “Hoosier” inspired cabinet, a little planning and ingenuity took the whole space to modern heights. Reclaimed window sashes were fitted as shorter, now inset doors, leaving the bottom shelf of the existing cabinet open to serve as easy storage for everyday needs. Polished and released, the statuary marble counter, original to the 193-’s-era bungalow, was left to reveal its age and imperfections and character.
The existing wainscoting material was expanded upon, to now include the newly reworked side cabinet wall. Again, salvaged window sashes set up a charming cabinet collection where before a single closet door once stood. The former door opening was closed too, improving the overall flow of the space while making way for a simple 1930′s-style service nook.
Where the new and old intersect is indiscernible, thanks to thoughtful paint practices for the finished cabinets. Sanding, priming, painting, more sanding and a final polyurethane finish ensure this kitchen will continue to withstand a busy cook’s lifestyle.
The line where old meets new was blurred again in the paint finish on the wall above the new glass tile at the sink. Wallpaper, applied to last, certainly did, and its removal was a laborious task complicated by a previous leak and the continued practice of a little glue here and a little past there. So, that which refused to come down was turned into an asset, forming the base for a highly textured, tree-bark-inspired wall technique. Fashioned to make the most of water stains, working the weathered browns and drab antique white of the aging wallpaper remnants into the unique wall treatment lends a period authenticity to the kitchen.
The new open kitchen plan still feels true to the house, thanks to the salvaged timber set into the ceiling where a non-bearing wall once stool behind the stove. A modern drop-in range sits inconspicuously enough at the extra-deep counter, which now doubles as a breakfast bar. Salvage hunters never waste anything useful, but slicing or cutting or re-imagining? Well sure, that’s allowed! So for the final stroke of vintage high jinks, the old sheet paneling was sliced into planks with the look of reclaimed barn boards. Painting each individual plank in the same varying gray-green palette seen elsewhere throughout the house, seemed a perfect way to redeem a material that only a committed salvage enthusiast wouldn’t toss in the dumpster.
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