I have only had two houses and did not do much in the first one. Perhaps I felt no connection to the house. It was a house from 1897 that had been divided into apartments. Many things had been changed and certainly not reworked as anything similar or even close to its original state. So, years went on and I went back to school and lived in a co-op building. It was a cozy apartment where I lived with my girlfriend. All that was well and good until it turned out that we wished for a larger space. We found a house from 1901, one of the oldest on the block. All floors are inhabitable and for 2200 sqft it is quite spacious and makes one feel at home in an old house.
To get to the point, I think when dealing with older structures, there are details that are almost irreplaceable in their original state like staircase features, wood hardness, etc. So, to say the least I have become much more involved in this kind of work this time around than a few years ago. I do enjoy it and I have discovered a network for architectural preservation in town. The Preservation And Conservation Association (PACA) salvage warehouse in Champaign, Illinois is run by volunteers. This is a great place to hang out and it has given me a lot of good insights.
Thoughts and examples on the reuse of salvaged materials into something with style. There is something quite fascinating about old buildings, their décor, their style, etc. And, if they are not to last, perhaps some of their features can be salvaged, preserved, and reused. But, ReUse could also include redesigning an existing space where remodeled and newly built bring together style.
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