Mauldin Goes To Mississippi

Recently, SA team member Jason Mauldin ventured over to Oxford, Mississippi to speak at Ole Miss and to attend The Conference On The Front Porch at Plein Air in Taylor, Mississippi. Journalism and marketing professor Mark Dolan asked Mauldin to speak to his integrated marketing class about the benefits of deeper story telling in marketing. Everything we do at Southern Accents has a story that we are preserving, so it was an excellent fit for one of our own story tellers to be a professor for the day. We look forward to continuing a relationship with Dr. Dolan and hope to return soon to expand on our initial visit.

 

Just outside of Oxford is the lovely town of Taylor, Mississippi. In that small town is a wonderful new community called Plein Air. Every one of the homes there is required to have a front porch, so it was the perfect setting for a conference dedicated to the impact of front porches. We spoke with the founder of the Plein Air community, Campbell McCool, about his philosophy on the front porch. Campbell said, “the front porch lends itself to community and getting to know your neighbors, unlike suburbia where everyone runs inside and locks the door.” Some of the topics discussed at the conference included the history and cultural significance of the front porch from Ancient Greece to modern America. Other discussions included the sociological importance of the front porch, the front porch and politics, stylistic evolutions of the porch and its architectural significance and much more. Lovers of all things architectural and story telling, we knew we wanted to attend. Folks came from as far away as Texas and Canada to participate in the two day conference held in the Plein Air community chapel, which was constructed almost 100% from salvaged materials from Southern Accents! You can find out more about this conference, which will be an ongoing event, by visiting them at theconferenceonthefrontporch.com. It is great opportunities and collaborations like this that make us #digmygig.

The community chapel at Plein Air was constructed almost entirely of salvaged materials from Southern Accents.

These magnificent doors are just one of the architectural elements that SA supplied for the chapel.

Everything from salvaged wood for the walls and floors to lights and windows for this beautiful chapel was acquired from Southern Accents.

The chapel has become a popular venue for weddings and community events.

Local Reclaimed Wood Projects

A continually growing part of our architectural salvage business is in the area of reclaimed wood. This highly sought after commodity, which is available in salvaged wood planks, beadboard, shiplap, barn wood and salvaged hand hewn beams, is being used in a wide variety of ways. From flooring, wall facades, ceiling coverings, furniture, fireplace mantel shelves, table and counter tops, artwork and more, old wood is being given a new life! In our wood shop, we use reclaimed wood in the creation of many of our custom built doors. While our customers who are using salvaged wood are spread throughout the country, we have recently been involved in two local projects that we want to highlight.

 

Our good friends and fellow downtown business owners, Rob and Mary Ellen Werner, recently came to us in search of salvaged, white “chippy” painted bead board. The bead board was recently installed on the front and side wall of their retail shop, Werner’s Trading Company, located on HWY 278. The white wood walls brightened up the front sales area, as well as created a great backdrop for their selection of menswear. When asked why they chose reclaimed wood for this space, Mary Ellen replied, “we just LOVE wood!” They also expressed their belief in the importance of repurposing salvaged material. Werners new wall covering looks fantastic and Rob and Mary Ellen could not be more pleased with their choice of material for this project.

Another local project that we have been involved with is the renovation of the historic Parker Bank building that is located on the same block as Southern Accents showroom. The top floor of this beautiful old building will be the new residence for the current owners, Ron and Trena Pierce. The bottom floor will serve as an office space for Ron’s business. Salvaged wood has been used throughout the building during the renovation process. Wood slats salvaged from Bonhaven was repurposed to create a stunning parquet floor at each entrance. Upstairs, in the master bedroom, salvaged wood was used to create a unique accent wall that will serve as the backdrop for the master bed. Down the hall, the guest bedroom is equipped with three, custom built bunk beds that will soon be ready for the grand children’s visits! The built-in beds were constructed from salvaged gym bleachers and industrial pipe.

We can’t wait to post photos of this finished project in coming weeks! In the mean time, visit our wood showroom at 250 Janeway Drive and let us show you our current inventory of salvaged and reclaimed wood for your next project!

The gorgeous white wood wall at Werner’s provides the perfect backdrop for their selection of mens wear.

The salvaged wood accent wall will serve as a backdrop for the master bed in the renovated Parker Bank building.

In an effort to make the best use of their limited space, a set of custom, built-in, bunk beds were constructed in what will be a guest bedroom for the three grandchildren. The beds were constructed from salvaged gym bleachers and industrial pipe.