Retrouvius is Maria Speake and Adam Hills’s combination salvage business and design studio: they lead by example and we’ve been drawing inspiration from them for years. The couple met as architecture students in Glasgow in the early 1990s and, after witnessing many of the city’s historic structures being felled, they found their calling. “We just couldn’t believe we were seeing materials and building components of significant value routinely discarded,” writes Maria.
They’ve since settled in London where they rescue historic elements—materials, furniture, lighting, and fixtures, from Art Deco mirrored paneling to wooden cigar molds. While Adam hunts down their offerings, Maria and her team take on design commissions in which they incorporate resuscitated pieces.
Retrouvius, Maria’s just-published book, is a compendium of these house projects. Clients include Helena Bonham Carter, who penned the foreword (“I remember being in Guy and Natasha Hill’s home and thinking, ‘Oh, that’s what I need, a museum cabinet to cover my dishwasher,” writes Helena by way of explaining how she came to hire Retrouvius). “Our mission has become to enable and inspire re-use, not just as a design preference, but as an attitude,” explains Maria. “Responsibility, resourcefulness, respect, and repair—aren’t these qualities more valuable today than ever?” The White House would do well to take note.
Photography courtesy of Retrouvius and Rizzoli, from Retrouvius: Contemporary Salvage: Designing Homes from a Philosophy of Re-Use, as credited.
More Retrouvius remodels:
- Kitchens of the Week: 5 Retrouvius Designs Composed of Salvaged Parts
- More Retrouvius Kitchens Starring Scrap Materials
- The Reclaimed Bath: 8 Favorite Retrouvius Designs Featuring Vintage Components
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