Recently, my mother-in-law purchased some lake front property with an old run-down cottage circa 1910 on the land. The once darling lake house had been vacant and forgotten about for many years. It was in total disrepair. It was official that this little shack was dangerous with the leaning chimney stack, holes in the roof, floor, etc. It was a tear down and not a fixer-upper. The sale went thru and the previous owners came to "clean it out" and took what they wanted and what had special memories to them, but it still was full of old stuff. The demolition was scheduled. But, wait. There were some things in there that I saw value in! Many people had cautiously peeked around and carefully tiptoed thru this little ramshackle house (my kids referred to it as the "ghost house") and nobody saw what I saw...treasures! Here are of a few of the items I scavenged before the demolition! It felt like looting - although it was absolutely legal and on the up-and-up! Almost everything else would be going in a landfill, sadly. This great place was a place of joy and fun at the lake for a family once and now, all that remains are a few really rustic and primitive pieces that I saved - which may have a second chance in my home or may end up on Craigslist or Etsy.com!
The load. A milky blue painted frame on an old mirror. It is really heavy! Also in the milky blue was an old fruit crate - the back reads California Produce. It's rustic, but would make a cute shelf or side table. It's holding a round, yellow Oven Serve bowl by Homer Laughlin (same designer as FiestaWare). The black 5 gallon bucket with pour spout is really cool. And every cottage needs an antique paddle!
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| Some random pieces of Wedgewood Lochs of Scotland china and a vegetable bowl that looks like Fiesta, but is not - no markings. A cool find was an out-of-this-world drying rack for kitchen towels. |
Oh, how cute is this little white cupboard with bright orange interior! I LOVE it!!! I also loved these old fruit trays - I can just picture them at a farm stand with fresh berries long ago. I think they would be cute holding a collection of ribbon or thread spools. I found some old padlocks and a vintage flower frog. How about that white with red rim Graniteware/Enamelware roasting pan?! It has a lid that is white with a blue rim. Very cool. Love the red and white.
And the piece-de-resistance was an antique brass bed frame. It was SO HEAVY! It is for a full size bed and has amazing art deco details inlaid into the brass. It is hard to see from these pictures. I will clean it up carefully to maintain some of the vintage patina. I also found some vintage linens (not the ones on this bed) that were in great condition. A very good quality white hobnail bedspread with all the fringe in tact. In a drawer in the kitchen area, I found some delightful kitchen towels that are kitchy and quaint. Since there was no dishwasher in this cottage, I love thinking about the women standing in the kitchen using these towels to clean up the dinner mess while the family played in the lake.
There were a few GREAT vintage finds that I could not remove and will likely wind up in the salvage yard. The salvage yard store is a fantastic place to get vintage fixtures for your home. They save the pieces that have architectural interest. Just look at this cool light. It is charming - the little tear drop below the bulb is connected to a pull chain to turn the light on/off. I can see it with a smaller bulb and a cute shade in a closet or bedroom. And the sink is priceless. Wouldn't it be great in a laundry room with a shiny new faucet?! Oh, I think it would be so cool to have a skirt made for it in a vintage fabric! Go to the salvage yard BEFORE you talk to your builder or remodeler so they can work around your vintage sink or the claw foot tub you rescued from the salvage yard!
In Grand Rapids, the best salvage yard is owned by Pitsch Companies. They have a store (read: warehouse and junkyard) just outside of downtown. http://www.pitschcompanies.com/salvage/salvage.html
I'll be putting on some boots, jeans and an old sweatshirt and taking you on a road trip very soon. I know I keep talking about all these upcoming road trips, but the kids go back to school on TUESDAY!!! I'll hit the road as soon as the school bus pulls out of the neighborhood!! Many of my haunts are NOT for children.
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