Decorating with Salvage

I think I developed a love for all things old when I was around the age of 15.  It was then that I started working after school doing light housekeeping for an elderly gentleman in our neighborhood.  His home was filled with old things.  I grew to love him as a friend and worked for him long after I married.

Now, so many years later I still find myself getting excited about antiques and architectural salvage.  Recently a friend of mine was looking for a antique door, so we headed to my favorite place to look for salvaged goods.

When we got there I wasn't looking for anything special.  But something special found me...

Do you see that sweet little wood relief of a sunflower?  I'm not really sure what it is other than an architectural embellishment.  It came out of a house in Durand, Illinois that was torn down.  This one had already been stripped of most of its layers of paint.

(That dark spot you see is merely a shadow from a challenged photographer!)

The piece is hand carved...

In addition to it being really cool I got it because my husband loves sunflowers!

He took this picture years ago...

He's an awesome photographer.  Now I'll have something permanent that will always make me think of him!