Prudential Steamboat Realty

The cost of remodeling a room can be overwhelming, and at times it can stop you right in your tracks with budget-breaking material expenses. A few Steamboat area residents have found ways to combine fashion with function in design by reusing materials from cast-offs and tear-downs to create unique styles while saving money.

Think outside the bottle-use cork

Prudential broker, Kelly Stahl collected corks to create the backsplash of their kitchen counter, and then cased it with a steel border. The metal works as a great magnet while the cork becomes an instant tack board - a fabulous holder for recipes and the infinite to-do list. Kelly says, "We originally had all kinds of crazy pattern ideas but it came down to simplicity and how well the corks would fit together. We set them two-by-two, each set in opposing directions, starting in the center and using clear glue. The light switch and electrical outlet were tricky to get around, but we finally found a use for the champagne corks! Some corks have hidden notes about the friends we drank with, a special anniversary or are just good memories of how much we loved a particular bottle.

Additionally, residents have used personal collections of cork for flooring a wine cellar, mirror frames, and much more. This material is warm and tells a story of favorite vineyards and pleasurable memories.

One man's trash is another man's barn

It takes patience and diligence, but if you have what it takes you will find a goldmine dumped away in a variety of places around the region.

Steamboat locals, Deb and Barry Smith, found enough treasures to outfit an entire new home and barn off 20 Mile Road. They found lighting, cabinets, flooring, tubs and doors-all in great shape!

As an avid yard-saler, Deb loves the thrill of the find. The quest to incorporate unique materials into their home is an adventure, and supplies plenty of good stories to share with visitors and friends.

"Our biggest scores came from a friend's demolition. We could pick up any pieces and parts we wanted!" said Deb. "This tear-down accounts for their entire kitchen, a cupola, doors, kitchen appliances, lights, and beams. Plus, one trip to Home ReSource resulted in thirty brand new windows."

These 'scores' bring far more than a thrill of victory. An incredible cost savings as well as a boost to one's sustainability conscience are two easy perks of the job.

Resident Jan Cohen has always appreciated a good hand-me-down. Growing up with four older brothers, she started appreciating recycled clothes, toys and bikes at an early age. I suppose one could say Jan has a natural appreciation for character-rich products.

When it came time for Jan to build a new home, she found fantastic ways to incorporate her taste and appreciation for the previously-used. Her straw bale house in the Brooklyn neighborhood boasts an inspiring collection of stories from recycled goods, and the chase to acquire them.

Jan's home includes wood flooring restored from the side of a hot tub, a classic stove found through a classified ad, and a front door that took time and persistence to find at a salvage shop in Denver. These materials make Jan smile when she walks through the rooms of her custom home. Each element tells a story and makes Jan's house a home.

This creative approach can further be developed in decorating the exterior of your home. There is no better place in Steamboat to be inspired for innovative design than Old Town. John Eastman was motivated to build a fence around his backyard with a collection of odd and classic doors after seeing a small section close by at a neighboring residence. With help from friends, family members and (of course) Home ReSource, he was able to find a diverse collection of cool doors to paint and display through the alley section of his backyard. John continued this style of decorating in his Old Town charmer by painting old lockers from Health & Rec for his mud room, including the glass blocks from the old Knight's Rest in his walls and collecting some more materials from Home Resource.

"It just felt natural," says John in regards to why he chose this method of remodeling. "We had fun collecting the materials and it has added a fun flare to our home."

Get out of the house.

Steamboat Middle School's shop teacher, Johnny Walker, brings a passion for building that is one of a kind. His main priority is to encourage students to "go at it and start building." His knack for putting recycled materials together afforded a diverse collection of projects that would otherwise have been restricted by school budgets.

Johnny's creative building style goes far beyond the classroom. He started recycling materials as a hobby because they are affordable and easy to use. Today, Johnny's creative vision has delivered a variety of refurbished boats, as well as some built from very unsuspecting materials. He has compiled a number of boats for himself, including a canoe made solely from cedar strips left over from shop students' bird houses.

Last year, Johnny followed up on an ad in North Routt for boat parts and ended up picking up a classic New England Peapod (typically a Maine lobster boat) from someone's back yard. He uses this particular skiff as a recreational rowing boat. After he took it out for the first time last summer he fell in love with it. Since then, Johnny has accomplished a complete restoration of the boat that he could not be more proud of. A reproduction of the 1850s model boat sells for $10,000. He restored the boat for a few hundred dollars and invested some cash in a nice trailer for $300. If he is missing from the classroom-you might check the closest body of water!

Want to become an expert digger? Here are my top three tips.

1. Keep your eyes peeled for ads in area papers. Jan was able to find maple flooring at $2/sq ft thanks to an ad in the Denver paper.
2. Spread the word. Deb and Barry's friends knew what they were up to and offered them all the parts and pieces of their deconstruction. Jan spread the word about the front door she was looking for, and a salvage shop in Denver made the call to her.
3. Get Creative. Look beyond the typical use of the product and you can find a lot more. Jan was able to take the wood siding off an old hot tub and transform it into beautiful flooring for her kitchen.

So roll up your sleeves and get digging-who knows what got dropped off at Home ReSource today!