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Sunday, June 12, 2016

And the transformation begins...

Anyone who has bought a home built in the 1950s or 1960s knows that time can take a toll in many ways, one of which is a complete destruction of continuity. Often a hodgepodge of add-ons faces a new owner, and such is the case in our new house.

We have brass doorknobs in several styles. We have chrome doorknobs in several styles. In some places we have brass on one side of a door and chrome on the other...in mismatched styles. We have deadbolts in the most peculiar places. (I had never before seen one on the door between the living room and the hall that leads to the bedrooms, but there's one in this house. And on the master bedroom door. Creepy.) We have light fixtures and ceiling fans of every conceivable era, style, and color.

Yesterday we bought five 52" ceiling fans like this. They will go in the bedrooms, the living room, and the upstairs apartment, now called the boys' playroom. We had planned to Airbnb it, but the boys made a convincing argument for turning into their space...something about keeping their toys out of sight and their bedroom neat, but you know how that will go. Nevertheless, they won us over.


52" Verano fan by Casa Vieja
lampsplus.com


We've ordered this 60" fan for the family room/dining room.


60" Casa Aleso fan by Casa Vieja
lampsplus.com


Our kitchen is relatively small and currently has a massive and ornate ceiling fan instead of a light fixture, which will be replaced by this fixture.


Lattice flush mount fixture
lampsplus.com


After buying several samples cabinet knobs and pulls, we finally decided on these unusual ones with a 1950s feel, which influenced our decision in the choice of a kitchen light fixture.


A279BN CKP Brand modern pull
coolknobsandpulls.com

Our soon-to-be very plain double front doors will have round retro knobs, the Orbit model by Schlage, and narrow star escutcheons from Rejuvenation. The rest of the doors, interior as well as exterior, will have the same round knobs.

 
Narrow star escutcheon
rejuvenation.com

Schlage Orbit door set
lowes.com


Instead of a Sputnik fixture over the dining table, we've decided to go with this cone light look.


Ronald cone pendant
franceandson.com


My power drill and I are going to be very busy in a few days, but once we're done, the house will look like a new place. New, that is, with a nod to the way it might have looked in 1950 when it was built.

6 comments:

  1. I absolutely love your new front door knobs Dana (funny because I've just mentioned your front door on my blog!)

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    1. Thanks, Kylie! I think they're going to be fun. We've decided to go with the same orange for the doors that we used at the other house. I'll have to hop over to your blog to see what you said.

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  2. A shame you couldn't use all the new items from your old homes. The first thing I did was to replace all the tarnished door knobs with new knobs. Many homes will have a chrome knob on the bathroom side and brass on the exterior due to tarnishing from the moisture. The latest trend in Richmond is to use a dark bronze finish on the door hardware.

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    1. All those new items at the other house served their purpose. They helped us sell the house in 3 days! This house has a little different feel, I think, so different knobs and pulls and fans and fixtures seemed appropriate. Anyway, I love shopping for those things. I used oil rubbed bronze in my little apartment and liked it, but now I'm ready for a little less brighter look.

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  3. Thanks for including all the sources...I went and bought a light fixture from the same place you are getting your chandelier. I've been looking and looking and nothing was quite right, so grateful to find something. I'm excited to see how all the new hardware/lighting/fans fit into the new house!

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    1. I'm glad you were able to find something that worked for you. We're really excited about the chandelier and can't wait to get it. You can count on lots of photos of the new house when it's done.

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