“I started collecting Katrina-damaged materials,” he said. “There were miles and miles of materials going to the landfill, and it was breaking my heart, so I tried collecting as much useful stuff as I could out of the piles.”

Some property in town that they owned gradually became their warehouse, where Ronnie stored the reclaimed items.

…

Longleaf pine barge board can be seen on the walls of the breakfast area, and ceiling beams are of cypress from a plantation that once stood on the Mississippi River. Boards on the walls and around the fireplace are reclaimed from other parts of the house; many of the boards retain bits of their original paint. The kitchen island is made of some of those rescued, weathered boards and other found items.

via Bay St. Louis couple make the old something new | Home & Garden | The Sun Herald.