Old homes get a bad reputation for being money pits. But there are gems hiding inside that could be refurbished to their former glory or sold to help fund some of your other projects.
Homes just aren’t built like they used to be, so it’s so important to salvage these beautiful, rare details before they’re all lost to history. Once restored, these pieces can also make great conversation pieces in your home and add to their overall value.
Putting together this list was a lot of fun. It got me thinking about old episodes of This Old House and spending time around the old farmhouses where I grew up. I also cross-referenced these items with the top-selling categories on a number of architectural restoration sites. I hope this helps you look at your home with fresh eyes.
1. Leaded Glass
If you have an old home, decorative leaded glass windows are common around doors, stairwells, and even exterior windows. Though they can have beautiful colors and artistry in their design, they’re not the ideal choice from an energy efficiency standpoint.
But before you scrap these beautiful pieces of glass, it’s worth noting their value. A quick trip around an antiques or architectural salvage shop will quickly reveal several pieces selling for hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars. These pieces are great because they can be repurposed and reused for a multitude of decorative purposes.
2. Vintage Bath Fixtures
Many people cringe at the sight of a pink, green, or baby blue 1950s bathroom, but you should be smiling with delight instead. Vintage bath fixtures from this era have become highly collectible because of the quality and durability of the materials used to make them and their unique aesthetic qualities.
Many designers have clients who sometimes ask for these vintage pieces exclusively, while others buy more inexpensive modern reproductions. So, even though these fixtures may not be to your taste, consider reselling them or at least donating them.
3. Solid Paneling
We all know the cheap, dreaded faux wood paneling of the 1970s. Go ahead and throw that junk out. But if you have an older home with shiplap, knotty pine, or more traditional wood paneling, you may be sitting on a profitable salvage opportunity.
If you think paneling is too cumbersome to handle, consider that entire rooms of it have been transported from estates in Europe to furnish the homes of the nouveau rich throughout the 20th century in America. You can see some of these rooms rebuilt on display in places like the Boston Museum of Art. Some specialty salvage companies specialize in removing and reselling quality paneling.
4. Quality Millwork
Similar to wood siding, most modern homes are filled with inexpensive prefab millwork. But houses of the last century often have beautiful solid wood trim around all doors and windows. This is especially true in old craftsman homes.
When removing doors and windows, look for any signs of real wood hiding beneath layers of paint. Under the right circumstances, that trim could still be stripped and restored to its beautiful natural wood glory.
5. Real Wood Cabinets
Are you seeing a trend here? It’s true that for all the innovations made in manufacturing, speed over quality is always prioritized. So, the cabinets we have today are good and work well, but they can’t hold a candle to the quality of a solid-wood set of cabinets.
If they truly won’t suit your remodeling needs, put your cabinets up for sale online or, at the very least, bring them to Habitat for Humanity, where they can be repurposed.
6. Stainless Steel Faucets
Crane, Pfister, Moen, and Elkay are just a few of the notable faucet brands of the last hundred years. Some brands still exist, while others have faded into obscurity.
Aside from their distinctive aesthetics, antique and vintage stainless steel fixtures are unique. Many of the components were also made of metal, making it easier to repair them or fix a seal with a simple rubber washer.
7. Decorative Door Knobs
Old home restorers and DIY enthusiasts alike highly prize glass crystal, porcelain, or other decorative metal knobs. Even if you just have components or odd parts, these items can still be very valuable to restorers.
8. Detailed Metal Work
Floor grates, handrails, door hinges, and more are all valuable metalwork that should be salvaged from old homes. Plenty of homeowners and restoration companies would pay good money to have these rare detail pieces refurbished and placed in a period home.
9. Rough Hewn Timbers
If you think that old shack or fallen-in workshop is worthless, you haven’t been watching enough “Barnwood Builders” episodes. Seeing how a seemingly hazardous building can be transformed into salvaged wood slabs and repurposed into decorative building finishes or other items is incredible.
So don’t write off your old structures. Call a timber salvage company to take a look first. If there’s anything in finite supply, it’s 100-year-old logs.
10. Vintage Appliances
The colorful, vintage-inspired Smeg appliances are cute. Still, they’re not as cool as having an original working Wedgewood or O’Keefe & Merritt stove—or better yet, an entire matching kitchen set. For some homeowners, collecting a set of working pieces is a labor of love they’re willing to invest dearly in, while others couldn’t be happier to upgrade to something new and modern. It could be the making of a win-win situation.
11. Copper Piping
If people are willing to break into old abandoned buildings to strip the copper wiring, you know copper piping has to be equally or more valuable. So, when replacing any pipes with modern PVC or PEX pipes, see if you can scrap your old copper for some quick cash.
12. Cast Iron Anything
You’ll know when you come across a cast iron item in your home. Laundry wash basins, tubs, and sinks made of cast iron were usually coated in white porcelain enamel or any number of colors, depending on the period. But their most easily identifiable characteristic is their sheer weight.
13. Light Fixtures
Old light fixtures can be quick items to find their way out of a home. Old wiring can be hazardous and difficult to handle, but they’re often incredibly well crafted. After a quick trip to a lamp repair shop, you could have a safe and perfectly usable light fixture or a great item for your next garage sale.
14. Memorabilia
One of the joys new owners of old homes often recount is the surprise of finding old memorabilia from generations past that were left or forgotten in the attic. Not everyone will want to go on a quest to reunite these potential heirlooms with their original owners or their descendants, but there is something else you can do.
Local history museums and libraries will often be glad to take these types of items. Yearbooks are especially welcome at local libraries. Giving a small piece of history a new life can be fun.
18 Everyday Household Items That Are Surprisingly Valuable to Collectors
You don’t have to be a collector or hoarder to have several valuable things in your home. We all accrue many items over the years, some of which could be worth money. Even some everyday household items can be valuable, especially to collectors.
To help determine whether any of your household items are valuable to collectors, we’ve assembled a list of 18 everyday items you likely have in your house. Check out this list and see if any of your items are ready to be turned into money.
15 Bizarre Items That People Bought and Sold on eBay
We all have an eBay account, but who still uses the platform? Traditionally, eBay was the go-to website to sell and buy used items. Now, there are many marketplaces for second-hand items, but eBay is the place where weirdness abounds. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen on eBay? I can bet it wasn’t as weird as some of these items.
Never Put These 15 Things Down the Kitchen Sink if You Want to Avoid a Huge Repair Bill
Many people don’t think about what they put down the kitchen sink. They just scrape all of their food waste into the sink, turn on the garbage disposal, and watch it all disappear. But many things can damage your garbage disposal or plumbing.
Here are 15 things you should never put down the kitchen sink if you want to avoid a huge repair bill.
Source: 14 Valuable Items in Your Home You Should Never Throw Away
