Behind in your holiday shopping? I’m not big on consumerism, but if I had to recommend you shop at one place in Sarasota, I guess it would have to be my favorite haunt – Sarasota Architectural Salvage, located at 1093 Central Avenue. Owned by local Sarasotan, Jesse White, SAS isn’t so much a salvage yard as it is a heavenly holding place.
The special treasures found here haven’t died and gone to heaven, they’re just in a little karmic state of suspension waiting for you to reincarnate them in your own home or yard.
I’m a sucker for gorgeous old stuff that that can be reused and given new life. And SAS is a master of that — all kinds of stone planters, urns, bird baths, wrought iron gates, statuary – and that’s just on the outside. Inside, it’s all there – furniture, bric-a-brac, giant mirrors, glass doorknobs … whatever you can imagine – it’s there to be re-imagined in your home.
Just look at these pedestals – can’t you imagine them as ultra-fab pillars under a table-top of glass or marble? Yum-Me!
Check out these guardian gargoyles – 
OMG – that’s what I need to protect my jungle-y yard.
At SAS, I just rollick through the rooms kind of head over heels in love with the place. It makes me think of the kind of home I’d have if I could just let my fantasies run wild (whoops, that’s another column altogether!). Seriously, if I had any real money, this is the one place in Sarasota I’d drop it.
But even for the financially-challenged like me, SAS always has something to charm. Once I found two tiny cast iron cat statues that now grace my front porch. The fact that I got them both for under 10 bucks only adds to the gush-factor.
My point is SAS is just nirvana for anyone who is a hopeless romantic … anyone who gets a vibe on shabby chic … anyone who thinks old is the new new.
You can find the perfect gift for anyone here – or just buy them a gift certificate and let them fall in love like I did. But be forewarned, SAS is majorly addictive. Tell them MC/Reality sent you … I doubt it will get you a discount, but hey, I need all the good karma I can get.
