There aren’t too many things I enjoy more than a leisurely mooch through a well-stocked salvage shop and Timeless Materials in Waterloo, Ontario, is exceptionally well-stocked. Housed in a large, tidy barn that sprawls over four floors, Timeless Materials trades in everything and anything that can be salvaged from old properties ranging from beams, boards and corbels to bathroom and lighting fixtures, trims and moldings, railings, spindles and newel posts, ceiling tiles, weather vanes, you name it.
The company’s specialty is undoubtedly reclaimed flooring, lumber and timber — rooms full of the stuff in every imaginable species and degree of wear and tear from virgin planks to heavily distressed. Timeless even has a room dedicated to nothing but rustic mantle pieces, some as thick as my waist (don’t ask).
The shop also works with local carpenters who fashion finished tables, benches and cabinets from some of the extra-special timbers or you can work with a designer to come up with something completely custom. The rustic, “wormy maple” table above is by Saliente Wood Designs and sells for $2,450.
Of course, it was the furniture, fixtures, stained glass, grates and rad covers that got me excited. The padded, bentwood chairs, above, were made by the Aarkash Chair Company of Montreal, probably in the 1930s or ’40s; they’re remarkably comfortable and sturdy with dovetail joins under the seats and nailheads framing the backs. The best part is the price, only $95 each (three available).
I didn’t get prices on the tubs and pedestal sink but they’ve been reglazed and look like new except for the historic styling.
If you’re taking on a renovation project and want to be environmentally sensitive, talk your contractor into accompanying you to Timeless Materials and get creative reusing and recycling some of these fantastic salvaged items. I also recommend Artefacts Salvage and Design in nearby St. Jacobs; tour them both and you’ll be guaranteed an inspiring day in the country.
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