Found in the Shed!

Pete was halfway through of the demolition of the shed roof when he called me outside to see his newest find. I don't know how we missed noticing this before, but we somehow did. Mainly because the shed was so dark and creepy that we would never spend a lot of time in it.

Can you believe this was just sitting in the shed?! I couldn't believe we had something this cool just rotting in there the whole time. Unfortunately the piece is beyond repair. We're going to try and salvage one of the side carvings, but everything else is rotten through.

At first I thought maybe this was a mantle, but then I remembered that mantels don't have backings. So now my best guess is that this was part of an old built-in shelving unit. Something that was maybe torn out to put in the new kitchen? Another casualty of the horrible living room paneling? No matter where its original home or purpose was, I can't believe that it got relocated to be shed shelves! I really wish I could find out the story behind this piece. Such a sad ending no matter its earlier story.

As if I needed another reason for a head to desk moment regarding our previous owners tenure in the house. First was the wood crown moldings and trim turned drop ceiling support, now what seems to be a finely crafted built was used as shed shelves. Outdated is understandable, but to strip the house of its historic aspects? Why?