I never met a salvage yard I didn’t like, so I was shocked to find out from my friend and upcycling furniture painter extraordinaire, Roz from Whimsical Furnishings, that there was a salvage yard in Edinburgh I did not know about.

I took a trip out to Holyrood Architectural Salvage yesterday. They are the largest salvage yard in Edinburgh and are located in an 8,000 square foot facility that used to be a brewery. It’s the perfect salvaged location to house their salvage finds. According to their web site, their founder started the business focusing on roll top bathtubs, but expanded to other salvage items. They currently specialize in antique fireplaces. Also according to their web site, their founder started salvage hunting through skips (dumpsters), old homes, schools, hospitals and even asylums! now that’s dedication.

The entire ground floor focuses on fireplaces and bath products. They wisely have an area for the wee ones to color.

I was almost giddy when I saw the sign directing you upstairs!

The first floor was full of salvaged doors…..lots of doors…. 4 panel doors…. 6 panel doors…. fireplace mantels, stained glass windows, lighting and furniture, mostly large pieces of furniture, and one commode seat.

It also contained my favorite section, VINTAGE TILES! I seem to pick up tiles when traveling, not the lightest things to accumulate, but I just love them so much. The ones here primarily come from salvaged fireplace surrounds. They had some really pretty ones, pastels, pictorial and some beautiful basic two tone patterns (the black and white below) that while vintage, are very contemporary and would look amazing as a bathroom floor.

Onward and upward to the next floor which had huge one of a kind pieces, fittings for a bar and salvaged wood and trim. Check out the large globe light fixture!

I loved this old table, what a great work surface and it had such great wear.

Finally, I followed the signs to the yard that had garden salvage along with more indoor items, including a graveyard of radiators.

Even if you are not in the market for a bathtub or fireplace, this was a fun place to wander through. It was great to see that someone was saving these items from the tip and giving them  a chance at a new home.

Does anyone have photos of projects that used salvage items for? I would love to see them.