I love antiques. I love to repurpose, recycle and craft. Anything vintage? I am all over it.

Mixing modern furnishings with vintage pieces is a huge trend right now in the design and decorating world. Check out your local Pottery Barn,  Restoration Hardware, or Crate and Barrel and you will know what I'm talking about.

In early December, I was out and about doing what I call "junking". "Junking" is my not-so-fancy word for shop hopping from antique stores to Goodwill looking for some crafty inspiration. My last stop was at the Vintage Market in Farmington, MN . I came across an old window screen with stenciling spelling out the word JOYEAUX, (aka "Joy" ala French) on it. Oui! That was it! My next project.

Now.... where could I find an old window screen cheap?

I remembered being at Shidor Second Hand Store in Farmington and not being able to find anything that tweaked my creative interest. Asking for some direction in my endeavors, the store owner suggested I check out Bauer Brother's Salvage in Minneapolis.  

So, off to Bauer Brother's I went with a fellow vintage lover in tow.

Bauer Brothers Salvage is located in Northeast Minneapolis. For those of you who are familiar with Sneaky Pete's or Stand Up Franks, you will know where I am talking about." Nordeast" as some of us Minnesotans call it, is an industrial part of town, a 10 minutes car ride from downtown.

When we arrived we weren't really sure if we were at the right place. We had the address right, but all we could  see was a very large old four-story building  with a small door on one side. We parked and went inside anyway.

WOW! What a sight to behold! They had it all! This was a remodelers paradise and a movie set designers gold mine! They had rows upon rows of doors, floors, and antique hardware. Old twirling staircases in the back and chandeliers that looked like they came right off the titanic overhead.

We explored every floor finding more and more treasures. One floor was dedicated to old windows, screens and shutters - jackpot.

I do have to warn you; the place has no heat, and it's huge. We could have spent the whole day there, but our toes were numb and all those stairs and long aisles were quite a workout.  Some of the prices were high, but they were willing to negotiate - another love of mine - getting a great deal!

So if you have a love for antiques, or are restoring a Victorian home to its original old world beauty, this is the place for you. I loved Bauer Brothers Salvage and can't wait to go there again. I think I will wait for the spring though, when I can spend the whole day without losing the feeling in my feet.

Here are some links to other great Salvage Stores in the Minneapolis area:

http://www.citysalvage.com/

http://www.guildedsalvage.com/

http://www.artandarc.com/