Restoring a Victorian Home is all about the details. One of the things that sets a Victorian era home apart from the typical house is the detailing in its hardware, Doorknobs, latches and hinges. In the Victorian era these typically mundane items were just as beautiful as wallpaper, mantles or lighting.
Case in point. We were "lucky" enough to have one remaining Period Lockset on the 3 exterior doors of our home. The others were long gone and had been replaced with modern lock sets and deadbolts, this is typical in most old houses. We do consider our self fortunate to have the original doors.
Restoring hardware varies depending on how many times it has been painted and what kind of paint or varnish ( sometimes when the door was varnished or shellacked back plates were covered) a lock set has. Its also important to know if you have solid or plated hardware. Plated hardware is thinner and more easily damaged by caustic chemicals used to strip paint. If you are using stripper I caution to ALWAYS test and inconspicuous are, such as the back or a lock set use in a closet for example before you just dunk them in stripper.
The best way, although it is time consuming is to carefully "pick" the paint off the lockset. Usually you can take an exacto knife and get it under the paint and lift sections of paint off. Getting into all the incised carving takes time and patience but the result is well worth it.
If you are going to be doing several of these I highly recommend going to your local office supply store and but a magnifier with light surround. Used by jewelers and artist they are perfect for seeing intricate details without straining your eyes.
Restoring period hardware is a labor of love that only an "insane old house person" would do but the beauty of the result speaks for itself. Period Victorian Hardware is a true work of art!
By Paul Wilham to Victorian Antiquities and Design, Cincinnati, OH, with permission
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
'STAYING WARM' IN AN OLD HOUSE!
Let me introduce you to Paul Wilham of Cincinnati, Ohio .. a regular blogger I admire for knowledgable commentaries on a range of topics .. good reading!
If you are waking up to one of the coldest mornings in the last several years. Here at our house in Indy it is -12 with a -24-26 wind chill you probably did the usual, went downstairs , checked your thermostat to see how well your furnace kept up and of course turned on your water and hoped it came out. If you survived intact, you realized your furnace never stopped running last night and in the back of your mind you have that nagging thought of just how bad that winter heating bill will be.
So how did those Victorian keep warm? Well we all have the romantic view of Victorian life, opulent rooms with servants bringing by an extra blanket as the fire roared in a grand fireplace as you sipped your hot tea. Well that wasn't the 'real world' of most people in the Victorian era. Opulent Velvet Drapes were the province of only the very wealthy and could cost hundreds of dollars. Most Victorian had to 'get by' by sewing their own drapes. Middle and upper class homes did however have what we called summer drapes and winter drapes. One of the 'chores' of spring cleaning was the removal of heavy drapes and replacing them with a light lace curtains. Most 'less than affluent' Victorians pretty much do what most of us modern day Old house people do. They nailed or tacked blankets or fabric over the windows in really cold periods. They also closed off rooms that were not used either by closing pocket doors and or the use of Portiere which has a drape that closed off a doorway. While many Victorian homes in cities might have gas which powered those lovely cast iron fireplaces you saw in every room of a Victorian townhouse.
Many houses would have had wood burning stoves. Usually in the Parlor or living room and off course the wood stove in the kitchen. In cold weather it was critical to keep these stoked and while the husband went off to work every day it was the "lady" of the house who usually hauled wood in and threw it in the stoves. Children were a blessing because that chore would then fall to the children.
Victorian knew how to "layer' clothes. What we may now view as the 'stuffy' garb of the Victorian era actually had a practical side in winter....it kept you warm! Men wore 'long johns' under their cloths and women had layers of petticoats.
Staying warm at night was the biggest problem. Even in many middle class homes the only source of heat was on the first floor. Assuming you got the downstairs hot enough the rising heat might make the night 'passable". You often found a cast iron grate between floors to allow heat to rise into the upstairs bedrooms. Of course we all think of the grand Victorian bed possibly a 4 poster covered with elegant linens.
A more apt description might be like this:
The best mattresses were filled with horsehair, next step down was cow’s hair, then wool. A straw mattress was often put down under a hair one to protect it from the iron bedstead. Chain-spring mattresses were available in the second half of the century, but they were expensive, and they still needed a hair mattress over them. A square of sheeting was often tied over the springs to prevent them from chewing up the mattress, which was then covered in sheeting to protect it from soot and dirt. If the bed had no springs, a feather bed could be added on top of the mattress. These were expensive and hard to maintain. An under blanket was usually put over the hair mattress. All this needed to be turned and shaken every day, because the fibers tended to mat and clump. Your linens would consist of an under sheet tucked into the lowest mattress to protect it from soot, a bottom sheet, a top sheet, blanket (in winter 3-4 of them), a bolster, and pillows. They would be covered in Holland sheeting then with pillowcases. One good housekeeping writer recommended that blankets be washed every other summer, and sheets once a month, unless 2 people shared the bed, then wash every 2 weeks. Not all sheets were washed at once. The bottom sheet would be taken off and replaced with the top sheet and a clean top sheet put on. The main bedding cleaning was twice a year, spring and fall. The mattresses and pillows would be taken out and aired and every few years taken completely apart, washed, and feathers sifted to get rid of dust. This kind of work could only be accomplished if you had enough room and help. Many could not manage it.A good housewife was expected to check the bedding for fleas and vermin every week. If you found them it meant a major war had to be waged. The bed would have to be taken apart and the pieces washed or soaked with chloride of lime and water. The room had to thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. All cracks had to be repaired and sealed. If the infestation was out of control the bed would be put in an empty room which was sealed airtight and then sulfur was burned to disinfect the bed and surrounding area.People mistrusted laundries because they weren’t sure of what might be in their things when they were returned. They felt the same way about buying used furniture.
Quilting was not only a social pastime but an essential 'chore' as bed linens from a store were often expensive and beyond the means of most people. Victorians Piled on the blankets to keep warm which is why blanket chests were so popular. You needed one to hold them and you needed allot of them to stay warm!
So while we will all grumble next month when that high heat bill arrives, remember, at least we have furnaces!
--
Posted By Paul Wilham to Victorian Antiquities and Design at 1/16/2009
If you are waking up to one of the coldest mornings in the last several years. Here at our house in Indy it is -12 with a -24-26 wind chill you probably did the usual, went downstairs , checked your thermostat to see how well your furnace kept up and of course turned on your water and hoped it came out. If you survived intact, you realized your furnace never stopped running last night and in the back of your mind you have that nagging thought of just how bad that winter heating bill will be.
So how did those Victorian keep warm? Well we all have the romantic view of Victorian life, opulent rooms with servants bringing by an extra blanket as the fire roared in a grand fireplace as you sipped your hot tea. Well that wasn't the 'real world' of most people in the Victorian era. Opulent Velvet Drapes were the province of only the very wealthy and could cost hundreds of dollars. Most Victorian had to 'get by' by sewing their own drapes. Middle and upper class homes did however have what we called summer drapes and winter drapes. One of the 'chores' of spring cleaning was the removal of heavy drapes and replacing them with a light lace curtains. Most 'less than affluent' Victorians pretty much do what most of us modern day Old house people do. They nailed or tacked blankets or fabric over the windows in really cold periods. They also closed off rooms that were not used either by closing pocket doors and or the use of Portiere which has a drape that closed off a doorway. While many Victorian homes in cities might have gas which powered those lovely cast iron fireplaces you saw in every room of a Victorian townhouse.
Many houses would have had wood burning stoves. Usually in the Parlor or living room and off course the wood stove in the kitchen. In cold weather it was critical to keep these stoked and while the husband went off to work every day it was the "lady" of the house who usually hauled wood in and threw it in the stoves. Children were a blessing because that chore would then fall to the children.
Victorian knew how to "layer' clothes. What we may now view as the 'stuffy' garb of the Victorian era actually had a practical side in winter....it kept you warm! Men wore 'long johns' under their cloths and women had layers of petticoats.
Staying warm at night was the biggest problem. Even in many middle class homes the only source of heat was on the first floor. Assuming you got the downstairs hot enough the rising heat might make the night 'passable". You often found a cast iron grate between floors to allow heat to rise into the upstairs bedrooms. Of course we all think of the grand Victorian bed possibly a 4 poster covered with elegant linens.
A more apt description might be like this:
The best mattresses were filled with horsehair, next step down was cow’s hair, then wool. A straw mattress was often put down under a hair one to protect it from the iron bedstead. Chain-spring mattresses were available in the second half of the century, but they were expensive, and they still needed a hair mattress over them. A square of sheeting was often tied over the springs to prevent them from chewing up the mattress, which was then covered in sheeting to protect it from soot and dirt. If the bed had no springs, a feather bed could be added on top of the mattress. These were expensive and hard to maintain. An under blanket was usually put over the hair mattress. All this needed to be turned and shaken every day, because the fibers tended to mat and clump. Your linens would consist of an under sheet tucked into the lowest mattress to protect it from soot, a bottom sheet, a top sheet, blanket (in winter 3-4 of them), a bolster, and pillows. They would be covered in Holland sheeting then with pillowcases. One good housekeeping writer recommended that blankets be washed every other summer, and sheets once a month, unless 2 people shared the bed, then wash every 2 weeks. Not all sheets were washed at once. The bottom sheet would be taken off and replaced with the top sheet and a clean top sheet put on. The main bedding cleaning was twice a year, spring and fall. The mattresses and pillows would be taken out and aired and every few years taken completely apart, washed, and feathers sifted to get rid of dust. This kind of work could only be accomplished if you had enough room and help. Many could not manage it.A good housewife was expected to check the bedding for fleas and vermin every week. If you found them it meant a major war had to be waged. The bed would have to be taken apart and the pieces washed or soaked with chloride of lime and water. The room had to thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. All cracks had to be repaired and sealed. If the infestation was out of control the bed would be put in an empty room which was sealed airtight and then sulfur was burned to disinfect the bed and surrounding area.People mistrusted laundries because they weren’t sure of what might be in their things when they were returned. They felt the same way about buying used furniture.
Quilting was not only a social pastime but an essential 'chore' as bed linens from a store were often expensive and beyond the means of most people. Victorians Piled on the blankets to keep warm which is why blanket chests were so popular. You needed one to hold them and you needed allot of them to stay warm!
So while we will all grumble next month when that high heat bill arrives, remember, at least we have furnaces!
--
Posted By Paul Wilham to Victorian Antiquities and Design at 1/16/2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
MID-WINTER AUCTION
Russell and Abby Carlsen have been friends of mine over many years. Here is information on their upcoming auction on Sunday, January 18. Don't miss previewing or attending this auction. Always a diverse offering of quality antiques and art. HMH
Freehold, NY – Carlsen Gallery’s Mid-Winter Antiques Auction takes place on Sunday, January 18, at 11 a.m. Held usually at six to eight week intervals, Carlsen’s auctions are noted for offering fresh-to-the-market furnishings and accessories from various Hudson Valley and Connecticut estates.
Of particular note, the January 18 auction will feature an important collection of 19th century firearms. This is in addition to a wide selection of American, English and Continental antique furniture; and paintings by listed artists, prints, cast iron and garden decorations, Asian porcelains, clocks, Sterling silver, and a diverse offering of country and formal accessories. Also being offered is an “attic fresh” selection of dolls, according to gallery co-owner Russ Carlsen, who also mentioned that .. “many ‘late arrivals’ will add to the appeal of this annual event,”
The Carlsen Gallery is easily accessible from the New York State Thruway’s Catskill exit #21, via Route 23 to Route 32 north.
Gallery co-owner Abby Carlsen remarks, “We are starting the year 2009 with this strong auction filled with many investment quality antiques”. In the opinion of many observers, at a time when our financial markets offer little certainty of enduring values, antiques and art are increasingly being sought out as an alternative, in additional to their functional value.
A fully illustrated catalogue is available online: www.carlsengallery.com. Absentee and telephone bids are also accepted in advance of the sale, although these arrangements must be made by Friday, January 16.
An auction preview will take place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, January 14 to 16, from Noon to 5 p.m., and from 8 a.m. until 11 a.m. on January 18, when the sale commences.
A 15% buyers premium is charged on all purchases. Cash, pre-approved checks, MasterCard, Visa and Discover are accepted in payment for purchases.
For more information, call (518) 634-2466, fax: (518) 634-2467. E-mail: info@carlsengallery.com
Freehold, NY – Carlsen Gallery’s Mid-Winter Antiques Auction takes place on Sunday, January 18, at 11 a.m. Held usually at six to eight week intervals, Carlsen’s auctions are noted for offering fresh-to-the-market furnishings and accessories from various Hudson Valley and Connecticut estates.
Of particular note, the January 18 auction will feature an important collection of 19th century firearms. This is in addition to a wide selection of American, English and Continental antique furniture; and paintings by listed artists, prints, cast iron and garden decorations, Asian porcelains, clocks, Sterling silver, and a diverse offering of country and formal accessories. Also being offered is an “attic fresh” selection of dolls, according to gallery co-owner Russ Carlsen, who also mentioned that .. “many ‘late arrivals’ will add to the appeal of this annual event,”
The Carlsen Gallery is easily accessible from the New York State Thruway’s Catskill exit #21, via Route 23 to Route 32 north.
Gallery co-owner Abby Carlsen remarks, “We are starting the year 2009 with this strong auction filled with many investment quality antiques”. In the opinion of many observers, at a time when our financial markets offer little certainty of enduring values, antiques and art are increasingly being sought out as an alternative, in additional to their functional value.
A fully illustrated catalogue is available online: www.carlsengallery.com. Absentee and telephone bids are also accepted in advance of the sale, although these arrangements must be made by Friday, January 16.
An auction preview will take place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, January 14 to 16, from Noon to 5 p.m., and from 8 a.m. until 11 a.m. on January 18, when the sale commences.
A 15% buyers premium is charged on all purchases. Cash, pre-approved checks, MasterCard, Visa and Discover are accepted in payment for purchases.
For more information, call (518) 634-2466, fax: (518) 634-2467. E-mail: info@carlsengallery.com
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