I’d venture to say that many married people in their 30s or 40s are familiar with the experience of wives dragging husbands around to antique stores. It’s a time-honored tradition of hmming and hawing accompanied by huffing and puffing.
Thankfully, some antique shops are now going virtual – much to the delight of reluctant antiquers of the husband persuasion.
We’ve mentioned Hadley Reclaimed – a company in England that finds and sells reclaimed, antique and reproduced building material and décor. It’s a great little shop. However, we figured we should show something a little closer to home, especially considering shipping costs from across the pond might be a little hard to swallow. We recently came across Maine’s own Portland Architectural Salvage and our VISA started to get itchy and excited right away.
If you like one-of-a-kind items, antiques and period pieces in the form of reusable building materials, tools, fixtures, architectural pieces, collectibles and furniture – Portland Salvage has an inventory that will delight you. Whether you’re into construction, décor, design or furnishings, there’s a little something for everyone.
At the time we were browsing the site (and selection changes continually) there were some 1860 Belgian stained glass windows, a working 1950s RCA Victor TV set (surely you could do something cool with it – I have friends that turned one into a fish tank), gorgeous glass door knobs and the most darling vinyl green chairs that caught my attention.
And husband? He happily watched TV while I did my “Window shopping.” Everyone’s happy.
Check out Portland Architectural Salvage online or if you’re in the neighbourhood, swing by their not-so-small shop at 131 Preble Street in Portland, Maine.