Salvaged Treasures

“You want that junk?” is a phrase Gary Pursell has gotten used to hearing. As a builder with a passion for incorporating aged materials into new designs, the items he regards as treasures—weathered wood from the lumber yard, or a leftover stack of bricks from a demolished building—are usually pieces that the owners thought no one would want. With Pursell's skillful reworking, those cast off elements are given new life. And in turn, he says, “they add their character and story to a new home.”

Having renovated and built houses for nearly three decades, Pursell, co-owner of Creative Heights Partners in Little Rock, says he has a penchant for vintage materials because of the comfort and livability they add to a home.  “You don't have to worry about a scratch on your floor if the wood has been around for 100 years and has been scratched and dented hundreds of times before,” he says. “It gets away from that feeling that something is untouchable—they've lasted this long and they'll be around for years to come.”

The process begins for Pursell when unused materials catch his eye. On a trip to a lumberyard, for instance, he noticed that the timbers on which new wood was being stacked had been outside for years and had weathered to an attractive color. He eventually turned that wood into window shutters in a courtyard, where their aged appearance was suited to the outdoor setting. “The guy at the lumberyard thought I was crazy,” says Pursell. “But if you use your imagination it allows you to see things in a different way.”

Occasionally, a demolition project will launch an idea. When his brother dismantled an old barn on his farm, Pursell brought the leftover wood home and turned it into new doors. Similarly, when the May Supply Co. building in downtown Little Rock was torn down, he purchased the discarded antique oak and used it as structural beams throughout his own house. 

Over the years, he's come to know many of the demolition crews around the state, and they now call him when they think they have something he could use. “It's got to be good, sound material, and it has to have some character to it,” says Pursell. “I also appreciate that it's one less thing ending up in a landfill.”

As to his restoration methods, he lets the condition of the materials and their intended uses determine his treatment. Wood that will end up outdoors might only receive a light sanding and a coat of tongue oil, while indoor uses often necessitate a more thorough cleaning, including sanding and grinding, “to get to the heart of the wood,” says Pursell.

No matter the process, seeing the transformation is his reward. “When you've cleaned up antique wood and begin to rub oil in, there's a patina that comes out, a color that's deep down inside of it and can't be duplicated,” he says. “Instead of loosing that character and age, I get to see it begin a new life.”