Text by Hannah Nance
Patrick Hayes’s art brings a whole new meaning to the saying “They just don’t make things like they used to.” Seven years ago, in his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, Patrick came across an old house in the process of being demolished. Unable to save the home from being destroyed, he did the next best thing—he salvaged the historic wood and architectural remnants. Patrick’s first piece of reclaimed-wood art was a coffee table, and it sparked a passion that couldn’t be stopped. He pressed pause on his burgeoning music career and soon opened 1767 Designs.
The company’s purpose is simple: restore Nashville’s iconic cottages in a unique way—through art. “I moved to Nashville and saw what was happening with all of the development that was going on and noticed how many of the houses [that were being torn down] were these beautiful, quality craftsman houses,” Patrick recalls. “They deserved better than to be thrown away.” Now, he and his team salvage pieces and parcels from these vintage beauties and handcraft them into one-of-a-kind wall art, tables, shelves, and more. Pieced together with different scraps, a design takes form to reveal a stunning and unique slice of Nashville history.
Moving forward, Patrick and the team are looking back to their roots for inspiration for the future of the company. Drawn to the environmental need for repurposing, 1767 Designs now takes homes down to their bare bones in an effort to leave no piece behind to be put in a dumpster.
The heart of the business will always be the beauty of history, though. “There used to be that real special attention to detail and care that just doesn’t exist anymore,” Patrick says. In his own way, Patrick is preserving Nashville’s architectural history, one piece of art at a time.
