Home Furniture
Home Furniture

Saturday, October 9, 2010 How to Choose Colonial Revival Hardware



A simple cabinet latch from Top Knobs has a patinated finish for an aged look

A simple cabinet latch from Top Knobs has a patinated finish for an aged look.

Colonial Revival reproduction hardware combines the best of the past and present. Larger manufacturers and artisans are reinterpreting period designs or inventing wholly new ones in the same spirit, producing wares using the oldest of blacksmithing techniques and also the latest in industrial technology.

Industrial Innovations

The hardware that appears in Colonial Revival homes built between roughly 1895 and 1940 may be reminiscent of 18th-century forms, but the methods and materials used to make it were quite different from those of true colonial hardware. Very few artisans were forging iron in 1923—and yet there are hundreds, if not thousands, who do so now. (Today, most work in mild steel instead of iron.) Brass, rare and almost always imported in colonial times, was far more pervasive in the early decades of the 20th century. So too was pot metal, finished and patinated to look like antiqued brass. Almost all of it was made using industrial innovations like casting, plating, and die-stamping, which captured the look without the labor.

Early 20th-century Colonial Revival hardware usually gave away its machine-made origins (even when posing as a colonial strap hinge). With the exception of real hand-forged pieces, that’s still true today; in fact, some designs make no apology for their industrial origins, with obvious seaming and finishes that resemble a heavy coating of rust. It’s often a point of honor that a cast-brass or -bronze entry set has substantial heft, while true colonial hardware was very light because of the scarcity of metal. Revival hardware was heavier, but not so beefy as quality hardware now, which may be solid brass, industrial cast bronze, mild steel, or an amalgam of metals.

Colonial Revival Motifs & Design

Makers of early 20th-century household or architectural hardware spiced up spare and simple colonial designs with motifs borrowed from classical architecture, like egg-and-dart or rope molding, often blending or blurring stylistic elements that were markers of specific styles in the 18th century, including Georgian and Adam. Good reproductions often copy these “revivals,” often with minor adjustments that make them slightly different, thus nudging history’s design timeline along.

Manufacturers also made it easy for builders to use their products interchangeably, whether the house was Tudor, Spanish Colonial, Mediterranean, or Georgian Revival. Modern crafters have gone even further, introducing designs that are meant to blanket almost any history-inspired house style. At the other end of the spectrum, many offer custom replication services that can produce passage sets or gate hardware that’s impossible to differentiate from period originals.

Hardware Finishes, from Glass Knobs to Brass Cabinet Hardware

Another Colonial Revival innovation was to offer the customer a choice of up to six different finishes, with an emphasis on those that darkened hardware surfaces to make them look old. Contemporary hardware makers may offer up to 40 different finishes on a single item, from raw brass or oil-rubbed bronze to verdigris, antiqued copper, dark bronze and brass, and polished, brushed, or matte nickel, just to name a few.

Naturally, we now have coordinating knobs and backplates in every metal and finish, but the Colonial Revival affection for brass and cut-glass or crystal knobs is back in full force with an explosion of beautiful reproductions and new forms in recent years. There are knobs of hand-blown glass in every color under the sun, plus faceted crystal, and even a modern version of mercury (silvered) glass.

Farmhouse Victorian Guest Cottage

A simple, front-gabled Victorian is the guest house next door to Jim Stout's Queen Anne.

In 2004, ten years after antiques collector and historian Jim Stout moved into the Williams Morton House, he got a chance to buy its guest house next door. This one is a different take on Victorian design. While the main house, where Jim lives, is a formal, towered villa, the guest house is a much simpler farmhouse Victorian. And even though the same family owned both dwellings, the décor was quite different in each. The main house had a High Victorian formality with paintings and many accessories; the guest house was plainer, with a country sensibility.

Sarah Morton’s mother, Madora Williams, lived in the guest house after Sarah’s father died in 1923. After 1947, the house was subjected to multiple unfortunate remodelings that left it in rough shape, with dropped ceilings, a “picture window” in the parlor’s center wall, and aluminum siding. Jim Stout restored two parlor windows, using shutters he found in the attic to gauge their original size. Markings on the floor told him where pocket doors had once separated the living and dining rooms—and there they were, too, stored in the attic.

Jim is currently working on the front porch, repairing the porch rail and removing the last vestiges of the siding. Next he’ll turn his attention to the gardens. “Working on the two Morton houses has been the grand passion of my life,” Jim says.


Bungalow Kitchen, Plain and Simple

Practical yet old-fashioned, straightforward yet edgy with color, this Pasadena kitchen is a perfect fit in a 1922 bungalow.

If this kitchen looks perfect for the 1922 bungalow, that’s because it was inspired by the original one. “We loved our kitchen even before the restoration,” says Kristy Clougherty, who, with husband Brian, has owned this house since 2001.

They worked diligently to save the existing fir floor (discovered under worn linoleum), along with remaining cabinets, hardware (painstakingly stripped), and lighting fixtures. Kristy says that about 70 percent of what’s here is original; for the rest, “we thought about what details would have been in place, and then we searched them out.”

Set off by dark soapstone, plain white cabinets were matched to the old ones, but with a flared-leg detail added. (The original owner-builder was from back East, where soapstone was more prevalent.) The kitchen faucet is still wall-mounted, “against advice,” says Kristy, “but it works and is just like the original.” A new dishwasher hides behind a door.

When the couple went to pick up the dependable, early 1950s O’Keefe and Merritt stove from its previous owner, “She cried when we drove off, and came to visit it several weeks later!” Kristy says. “We share love for this stove—it works like when it was built.”

A period convention very popular in today’s revival, the breakfast nook is a bungalow basic. This one is an original; benches echo the curved ceiling.

Bold chocolate walls soften the high contrast between cabinets and countertops. The soapstone’s sage-green veining is picked up in a new backsplash of porcelain subway tiles.

For fabrics, Kristy was looking for something unexpected to complement the rich brown of the table in the nook. “Oddly enough, it’s my dad who sews—usually industrial fabrics for nautical purposes. He whipped up the café curtains and the nook’s seat cushions, piping included—very professional!” Kristy boasts.

The color scheme is successful, and even restful. “It’s not all that common to see black and white blended with warm tones,” says Kristy. “But it was worth taking the risk.”


An Opulent Queen Anne

The entry is done in full Victorian finery; the owner had to buy back the stained-glass panel in the front door.

For years, Jim Stout lived in a mid-century Cape, rather anachronistically filled with the 19th-century antiques he’d spent years acquiring. His search for the right house ended in 1994, when he found the Williams Morton House, a Victorian Queen Anne in Berwick, Pennsylvania. He soon was enmeshed with its history and that of the family who once lived here.

The house is not a mansion, but its size belies the grandeur of the interior, and the lifestyle of the young Morton family who lived here a century ago. Built in 1894, the house was briefly home to Boyd and Madora Williams, who gave the house to their newly married daughter, Sarah, and her husband, Tom Morton.

The couple’s wedding took place in her parents’ home. On the same day, Sarah got the keys to the big house and to the guest house next door (and to a third dwelling then on the property). Boyd and Madora Williams prepaid the salaries of two servants for two years so that the young bride might run her home in the style to which she was accustomed.

Sarah would go on to decorate each room in high style. And there were few subsequent owners, as Sarah’s daughter, Mary Frances, lived in the house until she died in 1975. By the time Jim Stout moved in, though, all the lovely things had been disbursed to far-flung family members or auctioned off. He was left to deal with the minor disasters wrought by the house’s use, for almost 20 years, as student housing for a college.

The butler’s pantry is wholly original. The countertop is soapstone.

“Most of the damage was cosmetic,” Jim says gratefully. Wall-to-wall carpets had covered and protected the wood floors. Missing trim, moldings, doors, and windows were found stored in the house. “I was the primary fixer,” says Jim, who had no previous experience with carpentry or plastering, yet ended up doing 90 percent of the restoration himself.

No less important to Jim than the physical work was his intention to re-create the Mortons’ lifestyle. He even let the Mortons’ taste prevail over his own. “For wallpaper, I definitely chose something as close as possible to what Sarah had chosen,” he says. Although most of the original furniture was gone, Jim’s own collection perfectly suited the era and even the style of the house. There were plenty of clues to original paint colors, wallpapers, and design elements. Although he couldn’t replicate original papers, Jim found many suitable similar designs in the Brillion Collection of Victorian Collectibles.

Antique furniture is complemented by bedding panels and window drapery that are original to the master bedroom.

Sarah herself participated; she had been an avid diarist who kept copious journals detailing the household. She listed not only furnishings, but also each and every piece of the 13 sets of Haviland Limoges porcelain dishware and sterling silver flatware, along with crystal stemware and household linens.

Sarah recorded the specifics of the frequent dinner parties she and Tom held: the food that was served, which sets of dishes were used. She made it a point to never offer the same menu or table setting to returning guests. One of Jim’s goals is to bring the china and silver back: “I have a few pieces of patterns I know were here, but I’d love to restore the complete inventory.”

His mission is not purely academic, as Jim, too, gives memorable parties. Guests are encouraged to enter the dining room from the same entrance recorded by Sarah in her journals. The kerosene chandelier provides low lighting for the multi-course dinner. It’s almost as though Sarah and Tom are unseen guests.

Friday, October 8, 2010 Hollywood Regency Style

Hollywood regency, hollywood modern, hollywood retro--these are all the terms that describe the hottest trend in home decorating today. Made popular by Kelly Wearstler of Viceroy, Maison 140 (Palm Spring, Santa Monica) fame, this style involves a lot of mirror, a lot of lacquer, and splashes of bold color. It also makes good use of bold graphics and Asian accessories.


Here are a few items that contribute to this glamorous look:


This mirror was featured in Elle Decor a few issues back.

We love this armoire. It is in black with mirror. In our showroom we show it with a yellow pair of tassels. Awesome!


We also like this bedside table:


And this hallway chest too (it comes in red and black leather).


If you would like to check out the style, a good book to check out is Kelly Wearstler's Modern Glamour, the Art of Unexpected Style She has done an amazing job in this genre Her web site shows her awesome projects.

The Purity of White

We love an all-white decor. It's refreshing, modern and pure. When we do design jobs for our clients, we like using all white furnishings and juxtapose it with black/white photographs and beautiful plants & flowers. The results are often stunning.

Here are a few favorites to help you accomplish that look.



White Slip Cover Sofa $2000

What goes with it:


White Slip Cover Chair $1400"




White Tulip $350

As far as maintenance goes, it is true that white gets dirty quickly and is not ideal if you have kids. By choosing the right material such as cotton slip covers that can be washed easily, this look can be easily maintained.

Monday, October 4, 2010 Desain Kamar Mandi sederhana and Modern


Desain Kamar Mandi

Feng Shui Kamar Mandi


Bagi kebanyakan orang-orang yang sibuk, menghabiskan waktu sambil berendam di kamar mandi adalah hal yang paling tenang dan menyenangkan. Dan seperti halnya kamar tidur, kamar mandi juga harusnya menjadi tempat yang penuh dengan ketenangan. Ilmu Feng Shui punya trik-trik untuk membuat ruangan ini semakin nyaman sekaligus menambah energi positif ke dalamnya.

Desain Kamar Mandi Transparan

JIKA dulu kamar mandi hanya dianggap sebagai pelengkap dalam sebuah rumah, kini dengan makin meningkatnya kualitas hidup masyarakat modern, maka kamar mandi sudah menjadi sebuah gaya hidup.

Fenomena itulah yang mendasari baik para produsen kamar mandi hingga arsitek maupun interior desainer untuk melengkapi desain kamar mandi dan furniturnya. Karena kini kamar mandi tidak hanya tempat untuk membersihkan diri, tapi juga dapat sebagai tempat memanjakan tubuh dan pikiran melalui relaksasi
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