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Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Security Gates on Fire Escape Windows Can Be Pretty!


This is likely not a problem for people who live in the suburbs, but for urban area dwellers, securing fire escape windows is serious business. Unfortunately, when you go to source protective gates for your windows, this is standard:


It's unfathomable to me why anyone would cover a window with all this metal, much less "show" a home for sale with iron bars on the windows, but many do. When we first viewed our home, it had both security gates and child gates. Literally every window was obscured by iron bars of some kind. How inviting! (Not.)

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Removing Old Paint from Door Knobs and Hardware




The door knobs in our mid-century home are original, circa 1946, which means they're made of solid brass.



Unfortunately, former residents painted over them. Boo! What's a Renov8or to do?


Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Marble Bathroom Reveal: From Gutted to Gorgeous


It's incredibly rewarding to renovate an old home, especially a mid-century gem like this one, which had seen better days. Weeks of excavating layer upon layer of poorly executed past remodels has brought out the beauty that was always hovering beneath the surface.

Do you recall my inspiration board and final design plans?

As bad as the bathroom looked when we purchased this home, you could see it had a few things going for it. First, a separate shower stall allowed me to delete the redundant shower head over the bathtub. Ditto the curved shower rod and plastic curtain. 

A new free-standing soaking tub became the focal point, and we wrapped it in marble. 


The art deco chrome-and-glass shower door is the original, manufactured in 1946 by G.M. Ketcham MFG Corp., Brooklyn. Luckily, it was in salvageable condition. I cleaned it and polished the chrome with Bar Keepers Friend, then had it reglazed with clear glass.


I'm so happy that we were able to save it—it's the old things like this that give a home character. 

Finally, we were lucky enough to encounter surprisingly good conditions beneath the walls. 


The plumbing was in great shape.


The beams were solid.


No leaks and no mold. 


It's rare to open walls of a bathroom and find zero issues—and testament to the soundness of this 1946 building.

Ready for some After vs. Before photos? (Let's have "dessert" first!)