Yesterday, my sister and I checked out Portland Architectural Salvage and were equally amazed and dismayed. First, it’s fabulous. There are four floors of neat finds – old printing press trays, more stained glass windows than you can count, mantles, metal pigs, and really cool industrial lights.
While it was really neat, it was also really expensive. Think $400 for something you’d be thrilled to find at a yard sale for $20. Which brings me to my next conclusion about the place: it takes the fun out of cool finds. Half the fun for me is the thrill that you’ve found something that’s a steal. If someone finds it for you? A little less fun.
I think Portland Architectural Salvage is probably a great place for people who have money but don’t have time. Or people who aren’t as goofy thrilled by the hunt for vintage pieces. But it is a really fun place to look around on a dark November afternoon.
{of course, we couldn’t resist goofing around a little!}
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Aaargh! I apparently just got your anti-spam question wrong – I appear to be the dimmest woman alive!
Anyway, I was just saying that I agree that I’m amazing and dismayed by the architectural salvage yards, but for different reasons. We’ve frequented a lot of them in the last few months around different parts of Ireland, but the uneasy feeling I get from them is always the same. All those pieces of houses that were once homes, lying rusted and faded. Also, unfortunately (and I’m certainly not speaking for all yards), many of the most amazing larger items such as fireplaces, gates, pillars and the like are ‘removed’ from great historical mansions and estates, sometimes with permission, sometimes not. It’s sad to think of these amazing pieces of Irish architectural history being dismantled bit by bit and left to rot.
“I agree that I’m amazing” – and the nuggets of genius from me just keep on coming….. #typo