Aurora Mills Architectural Salvage

I truly like coming here and finding items for my projects. they have a good array of different items to pick from. I notice a lot of reviews about prices and agree a little that they are high but for the convenience of not having to hunt all over for something it is ok to me. Their lumber prices are better than some places i have shopped and they have a great assortment. They have some industrial items that i have not seen anywhere else before which makes it a gem for projects.
I asked for help if they had a certain item and they had 3 people looking to find some for me to look at, i felt that was pretty good service.

Guess I had to see if the other negative reviews were spot on… and they were. What an amazing place full of awesome treasures… if you plan on spending $$$$. I was appalled by the price tags. I was sure I’d find something to buy but nothing seemed worth it. Big disappointment.

Unique… interesting…mentally exhausting to wander through because you can come up with SO many ideas! That is if you have the money to buy anything here. It’s out of my budget… but one can dream!

This place is flat out amazing, filled with all kinds of wonderful salvage, beautifully displayed and rich in its variety and quality. VERY pricy, but really no gripe there. Im told they gather this stuff from all over the country. This place could be my FAVORITE place.
BUT the woman running the joint while were there was surly, dismissive and rude. and not just to us but to other customers as well. Retailing is about service. I will NEVER return here. Horrible. And I live in large 1899 Craftsman home, Im always remodelding and looking for «THAT» piece. UGH

Seriously? $ 70 for a 3-​inch amphora? I’da passed by that thing at Goodwill without a second thought. $ 5 for old hotel-​room numbers? Hippo Hardware in PDX sells them in bulk for $.50! $ 545 and up for salvaged doors? Again, try Hippo Hardware, the Rebuilding Center, or your grandma’s attic for more logical prices. Walking around this store made me feel insulted and mocked. Luckily, the other antique stores in the neighborhood boasted a wealth of reasonably priced taxidermy and other glorious crap to behold. Skip this joint and go across the street to the tasting room for a couple of glasses of wine instead!!!

Eager for a treasure hunt? Aurora Mills is a real treasure trove of architectural and old-​house items great for restoration work or today’s mixed-​media art.
It’s one of those places ~ like Rejuvenation, like Hippo Hardware, like Old Portland Hardware ~ that’s a «must-​search» if I’m looking for specific hardware for our Victorian home or something worthy of repurposing. It’s also just a fun place to stroll through to see what’s been added to the ever-​expanding inventory of items.
Sticker-​shock? Many of the salvage pieces are pricey, but they’re pricey anywhere because they cannot be reproduced. It just goes with the turf when seeking vintage items of this nature.

This review is based on the credibility of the business. Honesty and knowledge of products is not optional in this industry. I have bought 4 – 5 pieces from this shop and I will now be assessing all for authenticity.
We have been on the hunt for an antique lantern for the landing at the top of our stairs. We found one at Aurora Mills that was appropriate era, style, and dimensions. But it was substantially more expensive than all other lanterns in the store, as well as lanters offered by other architectural salvage sources. LIke double the price.
I asked why the price was so high and I was told: (i) the «glass» was made of the mineral mica; (ii) the metal used for the lantern is bronze; and (iii) the designer of the lantern was Stickely (althought it is «unmarked»). All sounded reasonable and the lantern was great so we purchased.
I have since confirmed that (i) and (ii) are blatently false, and I have serious doubts about (iii). I had the latnern inspected and the «mica» is plain stained glass. And I tested the metal with a magnet — not bronze, just iron.
This is the type of business where we as consumers rely on the expertise of the dealers. In any event, mistakes do happen and I’m always willing to accept an explanation and resolution when an issue arises. That was the most disappointing part of the process.
When I called to explain the discrepancy, I was told initially that they were quite embarrassed and would immediately resolve the issue with a price adjustment. Apparently they have an issue with quality control on product intake. That was 5 weeks ago. I have since called at least 5 times and sent more than 6 e-​mails asking for a resolution. The attitude on the phone is quite dismissive, and my e-​mails have been completely ignored.
Really unbelievable given how important reputation is in this business.

I was on the hunt for a shelf to add character to my closet and looking for an old piece of crown molding. I found a neat one that was marked 30 dollars and thought to myself, «that’s a lot for an old piece of wood» but I thought it would be perfect for my project. I went to the register and was picking out some old drawer pulls with an associate (tiny ones at 14 bucks a pull) when an old lady came and said that my wood was marked wrong, 30 is what they paid for it, it was actually $ 165! I asked why and they said it was expensive to transport the items. I think that kind of mark up is robbery. Avoid this place unless you have money burning a hole in your pocket.

I just happened to randomly drive by this store today, and was so happy that coincidence brought me here. This neatly organized time capsule could keep me entertained for hours, but I just love sifting through strange, little oddities from the past. They really do have some beautiful and unique pieces, unfortunately, everything seemed quite expensive (the reason I’m giving it 4, instead of 5 stars). If pricing were a bit cheaper, I’d probably furnish my entire home with their collections! All in all, sometimes you see that one-​of-​a-​kind piece that you just have to have, and I could definitely see this place as the perfect store to find such an item.

A few years ago I was trained to be able to look at a building and correctly date its construction and recite the properties of its design based on all the little clues that the exterior yielded.
So walking in here my brain went into overdrive for a split second before shutting down completely. (On an aside, I always wondered what the result of too much of a good thing was.)
Entablatures, bracketing, doors, and leaded stained glass windows all were clues of finely crafted Queen Annes, Shingle Styles and Greek Revivals of days past. There’s so much to look at, and one really isn’t too sure where to begin.
Yet the worn pathway of the old wooden floors and the squeaks of the timber stair treads lead the way while alluding to finely woven stories of life and home. Where a man ruled his public parlor and study, his children were seen and not heard, and his wife was left to hold the family and house together without a true place to call her own.
And here in little Aurora sits the dissected elements that made these houses actual homes. Amongst the piles of construction materials and furniture are tucked little gems of humankind: tin cans still with oil, roller skates with worn leather straps, postcards scribed with familiar salutations and apologies for never finding the time to write…
It’s a bit of an eye opener that the romanticized view of yesterday may be lovely, but in honesty these people were not much different than you and I. While we’ve learned to treat these buildings and materials of the past as if they’re fragile artifacts, we must remember that their already tough lives and fine craftsmanship allow for future years of use.
Finding what you dream of here isn’t the problem in the least. However deciding upon the item that honors the spirit of your home and is just the right fit can be a bit of a daunting task. But the perfect pieces is in here somewhere.
One just has to look for the clues.