A new coffee table book proves that one designer’s trash is another’s treasure

Today, Rizzoli releases its latest volume, Retrouvius: Contemporary Salvage: Designing Homes from a Philosophy of Re-Use. The book spotlights London-based studio Retrouvius, known for its salvage of architectural treasure for resale and interior projects.

Founded in 1993 by Maria Speake and Adam Hills, Retrouvius brings reclaimed materials back into circulation. The studio is built around the ethos that reuse is not only possible, but elegant and desirable. The interiors showcased in the book are not about polish and perfection, but rather story and soul – patina, scars and wear are celebrated, not concealed.

With a foreword by Helena Bonham Carter and contributions from writers, designers and the founders themselves, Retrouvius: Contemporary Salvage provides insight into the brand’s three-pronged practice. First comes the salvaging process, overseen by Hills, who sources everything from tropical hardwoods and vintage marble to windows, doors, stone, lighting, and ironmongery. Retrouvius’ inventory is in constant flux, shaped by demolitions, renovations, and serendipitous finds.

The second arm is the studio’s interior design practice, led by Speake. Retrouvius: Contemporary Salvage shows how the brand restores and reinvents timeworn materials through key residential and commercial projects. For example, Retrouvius recently redesigned a north London home, in which Speake clad the games room with pine boards once used for maturing cheese, incorporated vintage cigar moulds into the kitchen joinery, and crafted a bespoke bathroom washstand from the copper roof of a hen house.

The book also details the renovation of the home of fashion designer Bella Freud, which features windows salvaged from Battersea Power Station, maple wardrobes taken from a demolished office, and glass panels from London's Unilever House. Elsewhere, a 'country home in the city' plays host to 18th-century parquet in the kitchen cabinetry, a 17th-century fireplace, and a sink from an old train carriage; and an Umbrian farmhouse dating back to the 16th century has its original features painstakingly restored and enhanced.

Retrouvius also runs a physical warehouse and an online shop, offering a curated selection of rare materials and pieces to clients, architects and designers.

Retrouvius: Contemporary Salvage is more than an interior design book. It is a manifesto for design where nothing is wasted, everything has potential, and imperfection is beauty.