Recycled and re-purposed shop opens on Route 1

The old barn on Route 1 that formerly housed a battery store has been recycled once again into Salvaged Vintage Furnishings and Decor, a new business where owner Brynn Byerly works with her husband to breathe new life into old furniture and home accessories.

The husband-and-wife team said even with a late-summer opening (Aug. 16), they have been happily surprised by the response to the new store.

"We have done phenomenal here," Brynn said. "We sold out of all the furniture on opening weekend except three pieces. We have done very well here."

Leaving a career in finance to pursue a passion for crafting, renovating and re-purposing furniture, Brynn said she still has a booth in Hagerstown, Md., where she sells furniture she and her husband have refurbished, but the couple is now focusing their energies on the new store in Lewes.

Originally from Milford, the couple now have sheds full of old furniture they acquire at auctions and estate sales on dual-purpose trips to deliver their creations across Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Extra room in the old barn allows the owners of Salvaged to have a sales floor for their furniture, gifts and household accessories along with an additional workroom where customers may even pick out vintage furniture and choose the rehab treatment they would like.

"We turn out-dated furniture into works of art that can be passed on for generations," Brynn said. "They can choose a piece to be customized with painting and a finish that can be distressed or modern and glossy."

The young couple, now in their mid-20s, have both been doing double-duty for years to make their dream of opening a store possible.

While Brynn worked as a loan officer prior to opening Salvaged and working the store full-time, Richard continues his work as an electrician, Brynn said, heading to the new store to work on old furniture and build new items late into the evening most nights.

Richard primarily does most of the work repairing old furniture and building new, re-purposed creations like tables made from old doors and even a light fixture made from a box-spring mattress. Brynn said she paints and finishes most of the furniture.

"I can be creative now and I'm not restricted to the computer all day," she said. "It's nice being with customers and making creative projects that people will be able to put in their homes and showcase."

Opening to such an overwhelming response has so far been a pleasant surprise, Brynn said. Now, she said, the problem is making sure supply can meet the demand.

"We had to close a few extra days because we weren't able to keep up," she said. "It's a good problem."

Salvaged Vintage Furnishings and Decor is located at 17370 Coastal Highway, next to Unique Boutiques. For more information, go to www.salvagedfurnitureparlour.com or call 302-535-9032.