HISTORIC BUILDING

Architectural artifacts salvaged from abandoned farmhouses and faded estates are in big demand these days for adding instant age and personality to facades, interiors and gardens. Berdine LaVoy, a general contractor, grew so frustrated trying to find vintage materials that, in 1996, he opened European Reclamation, an L.A.-based salvage firm that imports centuries-old architectural remnants from England and France. “We go over three to four times a year,” LaVoy says of his treasure-hunting trips with his English partner, Julie Eurich, “and sometimes we come across the most incredible things, like a 400-year-old Gothic church door. Wood remnants used to be burned, and all sorts of bricks and stone were buried underground. Now they’re recycled.” His current stockpile includes oak trusses and stone-mullioned windows, rooftop fleur-de-lis apexes and chimney pots, as well as handmade bricks with 200-year-old thumb prints. The more patina these pieces have, the better: Rust, peeling paint and chipped corners lend that desirable sense of history. Designer Patti Skouras, who collaborates with architect Marc Appleton to create European-style villas and farmhouses, frequents local salvage yards. “There are some very good faux finishers, but no matter how good they are, there is no comparison with the real thing,” she says. “Besides, most people don’t want to wait a year for something to age, let alone 200.”

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WHERE TO FIND OTHER RESCUED RUINS: Scavenger’s Paradise in North Hollywood sells wood columns, iron railings, stained-glass windows, Malibu and Batchelder floor and fireplace tiles from L.A. buildings dating from the mid-century; Arte de Mexico in North Hollywood has carved doors, rustic columns, shutters and iron hardware from Mexican churches, monasteries and haciendas as well as remnants from India, Nepal, Pakistan and the Philippines.