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Old is New at ABC Carpet and Home

The retailer’s new Grounded department features furnishings, lighting, and upholstery made from repurposed and found materials and objects.

Meaghan O'Neill -- Interior Design, 3/25/2005 12:00:00 AM

Mixing periods and provenances irrespective of specific style takes talent. ABC Carpet and Home, the eclectic, seven-story urban bazaar located in New York, has added another department to its wide array of offerings. The new collection, called Grounded, is a gathering of one-of-a-kind recycled and reclaimed furniture, found objects, and lighting.

Styled and designed to specifically reflect ABC's bohemian-chic aesthetic, the Grounded department, which brings together existing lines with new ABC concepts, has been curated to include items with interesting and varied past lives. Here, tabletops are fashioned from deconstructed barn timber and ancient stone slabs, benches are born of cut-offs from a guitar factory, vintage Lebanese tapestries are repurposed as wonderfully colorful upholstery, and lighting fixtures are fashioned from days-gone-by-kitchen tools.

"When we recycle lumber salvaged from a dismantled barn, we acknowledge the age of the wood while recognizing the functionality necessary for today's lifestyle," says Paulette Cole, C.E.O. and creative director of ABC. The name of the collection itself stands to serve as connection between humans and the Earth, according to Cole, who calls the collection a celebration of sustainability.

Often, the materials originate from exotic locales or ancient times, adding to the mystique and appeal of the modern finished pieces--reclaimed teak from Asia and two million-year-old petrified tree trunks create a heady juxtaposition of new and old, for instance. Other materials found closer to home are no less charming. Several contemporary benches and tables are made from woods, such as heart pine, poplar, walnut, cherry, maple, oak, and hemlock, salvaged from in and around New York.

No matter their histories, one thing’s for certain: All of Grounded’s well-chosen basic elements have started a new life as functional home furnishings. What makes them special? They double as works of art.