I came across the site for Architectural Artifacts in Chicago while perusing a magazine- I finally went onto the site this morning and uncovered a great selection of furniture, architectural elements and accessories from around the world and throughout history. Adding older, worn antiques to your home, especially a new construction home, is a wonderful way to give it depth and weight, not to mention boatloads of character. You don't want everything to be bright, shiny and new- or all very expensive (or all very cheap, for that matter). The high/low-old/new mix is ESSENTIAL to creating a personalized, rich space that you feel comfortable enough to really LIVE in, but also proud to show off!
Here are some of my finds from the site-enjoy!

Adding an architectural salvage mantle to a new construction home is a great way to add character!! Below are polished iron and limestone ($28k!) mantles


Also, using old doors and gates can really individualize a space- this door below made me swoon, as did this pair of gates!

Putting some modern, new dining chairs around an old table (the top one is an old candy making table from Argentina) can look so special and unique.



This glass and iron cabinet below is something I might give up my first born for. LOVES IT!



Imagine this container rack in the ultimate chef's kitchen for spices, sugar, flour, etc.

Wooden garden obelisks- amazing.
I wouldn't mind having this old 1930's sign in my office! :)


These hanging iron garden chairs are from an ice cream parlor in Argentina! How charming is that back story?

My dad made me aware of this site when we were doing research on architectural company websites. A modern day take on the Sears type "mail order stock plan" homes, Ronald F. DiMauro Atchitects creates these adorable small home plans (potting sheds, design offices, yoga retreats, beach homes) that you can buy online and have built on your property. I love his loose drawings of them too- very storybook and makes me wish I had some land to put a little office retreat out back! Andrew loves the men's retreat-just look at the floor plan!
Genius!

I received an e-mail from someone at St. Tropez Boutique in San Francisco about their selection of Moroccan and Moorish tiles, limestone, sinks, bathtubs and the like after my Morocco post a while back. Well I just wen through the site and there are some amazing resources on there for anyone renovating a bathroom or kitchen and interested in this slightly more ethnic look. I wanted to try to post some pictures, but alas, the site won't let me (I found this one on Yelp). Courtney from (Inside) the Loop is a ROCKSTAR and taught me the invaluable lesson of the Mac "screen shot"- not to mention she took some pics of tiles and sent them to me! Thank you Courtney!! So here are some faves (hint: check out the Encaustic Cement tiles!)
Explore away!!!! Such unique a gorgeous finds!