Inside Architectural Revival, the old mingles seamlessly with the new.  A vintage metal olive bucket from Italy, repurposed as a light fixture, hangs handsomely above the register. The walls of a century-old barn have been reclaimed and turned into a stately wooden door.  These are just a few of the pieces that store owners Edward and Lesa Stroop have to offer—their love for design translated into a newly opened storefront featuring carefully curated reclaimed and repurposed furnishings and cleverly designed custom furniture.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY EVAN SIGMUND

With a background in architecture, Edward and Lesa also helm Stroop Design and Construction, but Lesa’s passion for interior design led the way for the Stroops to start Architectural Revival, which also involves their oldest son Taylor, who recently graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design and now is the store’s lead furniture designer. Since 2014, Architectural Revival has been based online, but the Stroops expanded into a storefront at the end of last year. “We decided to open up a storefront to have a communal presence, and what better way to do that than in the up and coming design district?” Edward says of opening the store in the Rosemary District. Their arrival to the area has been a welcoming one, and the Stroops are excited to collaborate with local designers and artisans to take pieces sourced from all over the world or brought in by clients and redesign them into something truly one-of-a-kind, a design that is fluid, transparent and intertwined with nature.

While reclaimed pieces have been growing as a trend for being environmentally sustainable and visually intriguing, the Stroops were also drawn to their nostalgic appeal. “The aesthetic is warm, even with its imperfections,” Lesa says. Sometimes that entrenched history within an object inspires new life. “We had a client who had a vintage sewing table that she didn’t know what to do with, but it had been in her family for years, and we turned it into a table she could use,” Lesa describes. A few of Architectural Salvage’s pieces feature particular functions one might not find at another store, such as a bookshelf made of reclaimed wood and iron that folds into a coffee table. Their son Taylor is also working on a prototype design that will make storing and organizing medications easier. As a child, he was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that affects the lungs and other organs, causing severe breathing issues and frequent lung infections. Ten percent of the proceeds at Architectural Revival will go to fighting cystic fibrosis. Apart from preserving the character of reclaimed pieces through Architectural Revival, the Stroops also offer interior design services and assist clients with space planning and decoration.