Burgman Building: "Devinyling" and bath renovations

We have been so busy with the shop and regular Facebook posts. Yes we have a Facebook page too that we realize we haven't done any updates.

The garage is looking 1000 percent better  since we yanked the vinyl off the façade.

The yellow vinyl was awful and took be  just a little over 20 minutes to remove.

The condition of the wood under it is exceptional and we didn't have much caulking and filling to do. Why anyone would cover this wonderful 100 yr old wood is a mystery to me.

Of course we still have to paint the door and trim but the real news is.......the carriage house will be converted to a new storefront and that store front will house a new Coffee shop next spring!!! We think it will be a great addition to our business and something the neighborhood really needs. We are planning on creating nice period style façade that will blend with the 1884 Italianate Building. Just one more thing to make us a destination.

Inside things have been humming along as well. The original bathroom was partially taken over by the upstairs furnace years ago, that meant it had a dropped ceiling and looked like ...well, not good. The new plan (because it is a big space is to make two baths, A 1/2 bath which will be accessed off the hallway (as original ) and  new bath that will service our guest room. That bath will have a regular 8 foot ceiling and will allow us the space to crafts a new furnace room above it which will feed the attic vents, so we have been removing the old dropped ceiling and exposing the old bead board. This will be drawn out winter project and there will be more to come

The nice thing is that the transom actually can be seen in the bathroom now.

Of course with fall here and weather permitting we are still painting the store façade.

More to come.

Antique-of-the-week: A clawfoot tub shower surround!

You know you want a shower!

As you know if you have  a claw foot tub you may long for the occasional shower but those reproduction shower enclosures for your claw foot tub start at about 600.00  and quickly run up to 1500. If you have tall ceilings you need the longer extension rods too and it all adds up!

Shower head can be replaced with a waterfall or a handheld

Faucet is the dual mixer single hole

Well we have one! It came with the house and as part of our bathroom renovations we are planning on a separate steam shower so this one is for sale.  The great thing here is that we have 12 foot ceilings in that room so you have the extra long rod PLUS, because of where they put it, the extension rods are both longer than normal. The actual shower enclosure (where the shower curtain hangs) is 42 inches so it will fit any tub size. Faucet comes with it and its the single hole type. I went on line and priced out the cheapest repro I could find with all the rods and stuff you would need to duplicate this and it would be over 700 bucks.

Log rod off end is adjustable or can be cut

Our price is 350.00 and this wont last long (especially if we put it in the shop when we open, and it will be a much higher price).

Side rod is longer too.

Contact me at victiques@gmail.com . It can be picked up in Logansport and we are happy to store it for a reasonable time (couple weeks) while you make arrangements. We accept Paypal and credit cards too.

Victorian Design: A Neo-Grec Newel Post light Restoration Project

Period Newel Lights are a vanishing breed, either scraped or turned into table lamps

The 'fun ' part of restoration is taking something that most might pass by and bringing it back to something that epitomizes Victorian Decorative arts.

The lamp had a lot going on but the one color paint did nothing to bring out the details

This newel post light didn't have much going for it when we started. Turned into a table lamp it had multiple coats of gold paint a frankly looked tired.

The use of proper placement of color bring out those details and the faux marbling creates a jewel like quality. 

However it was the details that make  a piece and this was in fact a higher end Neo Grec Newel Post "mansion grade" light. We had to carefully strip the layers of paint, repair hairline cracks and then select a period polychrome scheme  that was appropriate for the era of this piece.

Use of color again defines the 'architectural' component of the design

So we turned an ugly ducking back into a swan.

The Pursuit of a "Country House"

I haven't posted in a while because frankly I've been too busy. With the mortgage crisis and real state bubble in the rear view mirror (hopefully for good) and real estate prices getting back to decent levels, we have been working feverishly on our Indianapolis property, which we have had to hold until prices went back up. We are pleased to announce it goes on the market this weekend and it is our hope that "The Willows", our restored and updated Shingle style home, that has been featured on HGTV and urban times finds new loving owners.

Over the last few months we have been engaged in evaluating where we are, our goals etc. When we bought our home in Cincinnati, we never dreamed we would wind up being defacto developers. But with us now owning eight homes and half a dozen building lots, that is where we are. Much of my time is now spent with meeting with city officials, promoting the Save not Raze program and showing homes to potential preservation minded owners, meeting with builders and developers, public speaking requests and my activities as president of the  Knox Hill Neighborhood Association. Knox Hill, in addition to being a "preservation passion", has become a full time job, leaving little time for relaxing. In fact our last real vacation was in 2002.

So, we decided we needed to be able to get away from the 'job' of Knox Hill and decompress. To that goal we decided that we needed a 'country house'. A place we could get away to. It had to be livable/campable. It had to be historic, and it had to be within an hour of Cincinnati. Close, but not too close to town. It had to be quiet, not urban, and a place we could fix up along the way but not be "pressured". We drew a circle on the map surrounding Cincinnati and began the arduous task of research, looking at a lot of homes on line and some in person.

Of course, true to our "Preservation Principals", it needed to be a house that would benefit from our unique abilities. So in proper "Victorian lifestyle" we plan on having our city home, the Historic Nagele Merz house, and our "country getaway". This will allow us to divide our time, allow us to focus more clearly on the tasks at hand that day and also pay more attention to our historic design business.

All I can say right now is, after months of looking, we think we have found the "right house". The offer has been prepared, we think the sellers and us are on the same page, and when we can make a "formal" announcement, a "landmark home", will once again realize its potential and we will be able to getaway for few days a week. As usual, everyone will think we are crazy, but this will work for us.

We have also set some goals of getting some of the Save-not-Raze program properties into new preservation minded owners hands.  Keeping our development properties in Overlook District on tract and of course the patient and detailed restoration of Nagele Merz. But most importantly, devoting little bit of our time to relaxing.

Restoration Resources: Shand Kydd Wallpapers

Shand Kydd Has designed a new late victorian Craftsman designed wallpaper, Most of the designs in this series area little 'off' to use in a period restoration yet this particular design is perfect for a formal entry or a cozy den or a long hallway.

It comes in several different colorways but in my opinion these two shown here are the most historicaly accurate. Its affordable too at 26.95 a roll through Creative wallcoverings website. Samples are available for 5.00 each.

http://www.creativewallcovering.com/wallpaper-shandkydd.html

Victorian Parlor : The Tete a Tete

Nothing 'finishes off" a Victorian Parlor like a 'Tete a Tete' settee. These pieces are increasingly hard to find and highly desired by those recreating a Period perfect formal parlor.

The tete a tete was designed to physically separate it's two occupants. People faced in opposite directions but could easily communicate.

Known also as a 'gossip bench' or "courting sofa" it enabled the occupants to conduct a proper conversation. Courting sofa was something of a misnomer as few mothers would dare let a potential caller sit that close to one's daughter.

It was one of those 'eclectic pieces of furniture generally reserved for larger Parlors and often served as bridge piece between two sitting areas. Say a settee on one side of a room and a pair of chairs on a another.

What to look for? Well form. the steam bent versions with curved seats are much more desired as they have better lines. In the more " eastlake form' You might find incised carving or in very rare cases ebonizied finishes with gold incising. Avoid the mahogany pieces with federal style backs. These are often reproduction and not worth buying made in Malaysia.

It's a rare occasion to find a complete parlor set in the same style that includes a tete a tete, you will come accoss individual chairs that match sometimes. Prices are all over the place. Rare examples by Horner can fetch 10 figures and you can find lesser examples, perhaps needing upholstery for under 500-1000.00. They are elusive but if you look hard enough and long enough you may be able to add one to your collection.

Tornado Destroyed Moscow Bridge being salvaged

The Historic Moscow covered bridge is being salvaged. Beams are being pulled out of the water as as much salvageable timber is being saved. While it is not yet sure where the monies will come from, organizers of the covered bridge festival have planned to go ahead with the festival in the hope that monies can be raised.

Despite the severe damage many key timber and section are intact but were in the water.

A bridge burned by Arson a few years ago in another Indiana town was reconstructed.