A few years ago my husband convinced me to by a small farm just west of the Chicagoland suburbs.  Who doesn’t have the dream of flipping and decorating a charming farmhouse/cottage by unveiling its character and personality from days gone by?

Only one problem….

The house was built in the 1990s, and it was a basic rectangular block. Can you spell
B-O-R-I-N-G?!?!?

Here are a few BEFORE pictures of the main living space.  It lacked natural light, had ceiling fans in every room, and the deep color choices made it feel dark and cavernous.  It’s saving grace is that beautiful fireplace.  Each stone was actually salvaged from the property’s stream and foundation, and reused in its creation.  Sadly, that was pretty much the only visual interest in the entire space.

The Dining Room: BEFORE

We were able to fix many of the home’s dilemmas with some much needed improvements.  I am happy to say that we were finally able to SCREAM,
Huckle Buckle Beanstalk, as we had found our forever home.

You can see we added built-in cabinetry and custom trim work to the fireplace, added recessed can lighting in the ceiling/above the built ins, and installed a patio door to incorporate more natural light.  The space is so long, I did not want to visually distract one’s eye away from the rooms focal point (the fire place wall).  So, I used SALVAGE to save the day!  The vintage loft-ladder is simple enough to transition your eye to the room’s focal point.  Yet, it’s also interesting enough to carry the weight of being the only “art” piece on the staple wall of the room.

Here is a close up of the ladder.  I stumbled upon it at the Kane County Flea Market for only $20.00.  It was from a barn in Wisconsin.  Its cylinder rungs and naturally aged finish tied in perfectly with my cottage decor as well as offered an element of visual interest to my, otherwise barren, living room wall.

Next to the patio door, I threw another salvaged barn window (that I grabbed from a dumpster in a nearby town) up on the wall.  That’s right, this beauty was $0.00!!! Can you say Huckle Buckle Beanstalk?!?!?  What a much needed treasure to polish off this small space.

Last but not least, here is my new dining room.  Barn doors have become quite the rage in many room transformations.  My goal was not to use this authentic barn door functionally.  Instead, my square-box dining room was in need of architectural detail.  By hanging this masterpiece on the wall, this place of gathering has an instant conversation starter.  What makes this century-old piece a true HBB treasure ,is that I know it’s story and where it’s been.  Any time you can bring salvage with a story into your home, the piece will offer an inexplicable richness to your space.

I hope this post reminds you that the littlest (or biggest) salvaged finds can transform any space.  Happy hunting and merry decorating my HBB friends and family.