If pressed, about what I love the very most about my job, it would be the creativity and artfulness of it.
I get to make centerpieces in the middle of rooms.
I get to make entire rooms a centerpiece.
And I get to reuse gorgeous building materials that someone has labeled “trash.” 
Then, I get to take these unique architectural antiques, restore them to their original grandeur (Granted with some hallmarks of the century they’ve survived–I call it patina. Some of my witty guys call it “Karacter.” Please tip your servers.) and then mix and match the pieces to fit the client, the home, and build them into a room. I get to make the pieces permanent once again. That is incredibly rewarding and the end result yields an original piece of living art. Art with a function…and purpose.
This fireplace (above) we created, from scratch, as part of an addition to a mid-century house in Avondale Estates. We took a paint-encrusted early 1800’s mantel, peeled the paint onion until the heart of pine was exposed. Lots of detailing, sanding, and finishing happened to get the original gorgeous color back. Then, we built the fireplace with antique brick, reclaimed encaustic tile, a Victorian cast iron fire surround with art deco accents (which the client loves.) The custom bookcases were a bonus and a nod to the Craftsman designs of the 1920’s. We topped the bookcases with thick slabs of reclaimed heart of pine to tie back to the mantel itself. When we finished, you’d swear this was always here.
I have a few more examples below of hearths that we’ve restored or installed from scratch. Some of them are more adventurous than others.
Creating warmth and a family focal point.
Another “new” fireplace we created with salvaged pieces.
Victorian restoration with reclaimed 120 year old tile
This is a custom mantel we built from reclaimed pine.
Crazy quilt of reclaimed tile in the hearth pad
