This coming Sunday, July 31st, Rejuvenation is hosting author Joanne Palmisano, author of Salvage Secrets, for a book signing at our Portland store. One of the projects featured in the book was designed by Anne De Wolf, co-owner and lead designer of Portland area period restoration/renovation company Arciform. Anne thought it would be fun to provide a little more back-story here on the wonderful project Joanne included in the book.
The home featured showcases the creative integration of unusual recycled materials into virtually every aspect of the home. It is a vibrant and playful example of rethinking material use and still achieving extraordinary, cohesive design. The designer engaged in a thorough process of selection and application. From the pickle barrel wood floors to the herringbone patterned Kirei Board and bamboo ceiling; this home celebrates the unexpected delights of making sustainable choices.
The goal of the project was to turn a simple 70′s house into a sustainably-crafted piece of art. The home is a creative juxtaposition to its adjacent unadorned “twin”- built at the same time. Completed over multiple stages spanning 6 years, both client and Anne desired to utilize found objects and reclaimed materials as much as possible to compliment the homeowner’s vintage collections and taste. Junkyards and “seconds” bins were scoured and new-to-market green building materials used.
The client is the quintessential eclectic. Nothing in the house can be considered trendy. When there was an environmentally-friendly option, she chose it. The living-room style front porch greets visitors warmly. A sueded sofa and chair crafted out of old barrels invites guests to sit a spell and enjoy the banana palm post welded with repurposed, found metal objects. Beer bottle caps on its trunk act as magnets for notes and the “bananas” are fishing weights. Whimsical outdoor signage and artist’s pieces, based on this same “refound” theme, are found all around the property and home’s exterior.
The same reclaim-themed elements found on its exterior are continued in its interior. Rusted sheet metal scrap is used on the ceilings in the dining area. Vintage doors are throughout the home. An early 1900’s door, with its worn paint layers, original address numbers, and mail slot, lead to the first floor master. The downstairs master bathroom door, hung on barn glides, was fabricated from old screen door and sheet metal. In the first floor master bath an antique buffet has been retrofitted as a vanity and an old rod iron fence section functions as a towel bar.
Leading upstairs are mosaic-patterned broken tile risers. The railing is fabricated of metal parts salvaged from a junkyard. At the landing are two salvaged doors with vintage glass used for the 2nd floor laundry closets. A retractable attic staircase pulls down with use of antique doorknobs. To protect the wall from the knobs, a framed piece of tire tread has been mounted – original rocks in its treads left intact.
A round bed chain – suspended from the ceiling has a bamboo lazy-susan storage carousel below. The floor is a warm recycled leather tile made from the landfill-bound scraps of leather of BMW car seat manufacturers and other tanneries. Antique socket wrenches fabricated into S-curves serve as hooks to display the client’s extensive vintage clothing collection and act as a curtain to obscure the view of the shelving behind it.
Anne De Wolf will also be at Salvage Secrets book signing on Sunday, July 31st, 12 – 2:00 to share design ideas and inspiring examples of Arciform projects that have creatively incorporated salvage materials. www.arciform.com. If you’re in Portland, stop by and say hello!
Photos courtesy of Greg Kozawa