CHERYL BUTTS IN: WHAT WE COLLECT - pt. 2

Since I am still elbow deep in painting at my new house, I'm happy to turn my blog over to my friend Cheryl for another round of "Cheryl Butts In".

It is me, Cheryl in Wisconsin again.  If you’re reading this, Danni has not changed her identity and e-mail address to avoid me yet.

In my first post, I discussed the stuff we connect with, stuff that defines our style and makes us feel as one with our homes.  For me, primarily, it is heavy metal.  Secondly, it is architectural salvage, or as I affectionately refer to it:  Old House Parts.

My house is just one big Old House Part.  Built in 1901 as a Victorian bungalow, it was more of a worker bee house among some multi-story beauties in my neighborhood.  Some of the homes here have been beautifully preserved in their original state.  Some of them have been updated with uncharacteristic materials, now simplistic shells of their former glory.

Luckily for me, my home has most of its original character.  When I got it, it had a new veneer of vinyl siding (great for insulation and low maintenance), and new aluminum storm windows (don’t have to change out the storms/screens each season change), but the interior windows remain, the beautiful wraparound front porch is still intact, I have all the original oak bullseye woodwork (painted white), and save for a back porch addition that allows me to access my basement without going outside, and the addition of a bathroom, it has the original floorplan.

This wall is in my dining room.  The shelf brackets are from the exterior of the house across the alley, they swapped them out for ones made out of composite materials.  I took the old ones off their hands and went to town with a heat gun removing years of leaded paint.  Fun times.  The bottom piece is from a ????, I bought it at a barn sale.  It matches the newel post sitting next to it, I got that at a garage sale.  If I was ambitious I would work these into some actual structure.  My routine is to bring it in and display it like art.  It is art.

This pediment could have once topped a stately mansion’s front door.  Now it hangs above my china cabinet, highlighting my crooked lampshade. 

 

This is a wall in my bedroom.  The piece up top is actually from a NEW piece of furniture that fell apart before it was purchased by anyone.  I painted it and beat the crap out of it so that it would look old, and hung it on the wall.  The joke-of-a-closet (tiny!) had no door so I cannibalized a storm door and used the center section to hang there.  (Yes, people of 1901 didn’t have a lot of clothes but didn’t women wear those huge hoop skirt ensembles?  Where did they hang them up?  Did they just wear the same one every day?  I digress…) That is my baptismal gown on the wall.  My friend Karen is freaked out by it every time she sees it, so I leave it there.  For fun.  I don’t know what else to do with it.  My cats won’t wear it.

I used old gingerbread pieces instead of a curtain in the window above my kitchen sink.  Yes, that is the neighbor’s house.  We’re all just one big happy squashed together family here.

I stuck a piece of old tin on the wall I like to splatter grease on.  The lamp is an old industrial type.  It was made by Pitner Arc, a company that was instrumental in the oil to electrical conversion for lighting.  I had it rewired.

A door handle, beautiful enough in its workmanship to hang on a small wall, no door opening required.

Old house parts used to create a focal point at the end of my fenced in backyard.  I WISH MY BACKYARD LOOKED LIKE THIS RIGHT NOW.  If we looked at this view today, it is white.  Just white.  Looking forward to spring!!!!

Old door, old window boxes, old spindles.  New herb garden.  This is right outside my back door, very handy for when you need a handful of basil, etc.   Just not in the winter. 

Thanks again for letting me share.  Thanks again to Danni!