One of the things that I don't like about my apartment is that it does not have a coat closet. So after having enough of tossing my coat on the couch, I decided that I need a coat tree. So after unsuccessfully searching at usual suspects of Target and Fred Meyer, I asked my boss where I could go to get a coat tree. He recommended a place in Portland called Tropical Salvage that builds all types of furniture from salvaged wood from rain forests. They generally use hardwood that comes from 3 different sources: dead, but still standing trees from forest fires, demolitions sites including old buildings and bridges, and (this is pretty wild) they mine trees that have been buried in old volcanic ash.
While the wood is not as pretty as virgin cut wood because it has often been damaged or previously used, it is extremely durable and has more character than virgin wood. Plus it is also a reminder that the furniture had a life prior to sitting in your house.
While unfortunately, they do not have any coat trees, when I do need some new furniture, I'll certainly make Tropical Salvage one of my first stops.
