Architectural Salvage For Sale

My love of old houses began when I was in college in Winona, Minnesota which is located on the Mississippi River.  I often walked the streets of the city, to the river or lake, to feed the ducks. I was absolutely mesmerized by all of the beautiful historic homes, and I would admire all of the wonderful detail that was so lovingly put into the buildings of the past. I wondered about the people that built them, who lived in them and what life must have been like over a century ago.  And, I dreamed of owning such a home myself.

Fast forward almost 2 decades and I found that charming house! It was nothing fancy, but by Idaho standards it was unique and I couldn't wait to restore it to its former glory!  

(You can see the whole restoration, if you are interested, by clicking on the House Restoration label on the right side of this blog!)

This restoration was a 5 year journey!  Since Idaho is not very populated, and many areas were not founded until after 1900 there weren't many homes that fit my definition of historic, and it was pretty much just luck if I found any salvage that could be used in the house.  The search took me to Salt Lake City, Utah; Portland, Oregon; Pasadena, California; Washington state and Minnesota looking for historic house parts!  And that is when my collection of architectural salvage began!

When the house was done and I decided to quit teaching, a group of friends and I opened a store in a former gas station in Shoshone, Idaho called Somethin' Salvaged. 

 I  had a growing collection of historic house parts, and I repurposed junk into usable items.  (See the labels to the right for photos of repurposed creations) 

The plan was to be THE place to go for Architectural Salvage in Idaho...but my husband was transferred out of state.  A friend was going to take over the store and I was going to salvage houses in the Midwest and deliver the inventory to Idaho to fill the demand for lovers of historic homes.

It didn't work out with my friend that still had school age children she needed to tend to, but I am in Minnesota and I am saving what I can from any historic home I have access to!  I've salvaged 3 houses in the last year...

and my desire is to find someone to partner with in a salvage business, someone to buy my inventory as I continue salvaging.  I have people from Idaho, Utah, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado contacting me to buy my inventory...the demand is there...but I don't have a store front to sell from.  So if you have a knack for business and a love of  architecture please contact me at kellyaverbeck@gmail.com or 208-308-6886 and lets visit!  

Here is a sample of my inventory....

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Kelly