Photo Shoot

I've just learned that we're having another photo shoot of our house in less than two weeks! Eeek. It's not the best timing because our calendar is booked up between now and next Wednesday.

Luckily we cleaned up pretty well for company a couple weekends ago, so the house is generally in good shape. But our next batch of cleaning needs to be projects like polishing brass hardware and washing windows and dusting everything.

I'm not sure if all of a sudden I'll be posting a bunch of projects and pictures or if I'll go silent between now and then. I guess we'll see how much energy I have left at the end of the day.

P.S. This photoshoot is for a magazine, but I've been asked to withhold more information until the article is actually published. Trust me, when I can, I'll let you all in on the secret.

Period Book: The Home Beautiful (1915)

This week's book is really just a woodwork sales brochure. I thought the pictures were beautiful, even though they're mostly all black and white, so I decided to share them here on the blog. The brochure is called The Home Beautiful and was published by Farley & Loetscher Mfg. Co. in 1915 showing their suggestions for interior woodwork. "A book of practical information for builders of up-to-date homes."

This is another post with a lot of pictures, so I'm going to insert a page break. If you want to see all the pictures, you'll have to open the post.

Shopping for Period Style Kitchen Items

I have spent literally hours trying to find period style items for my kitchen. It is surprising how difficult it is to find modern kitchen items that resemble those I found in the period photos. I really thought it would be easier; after all, how much would canisters and crocks change?

These were the containers I really liked.

I spent hours and hours trying to find modern reproductions with no luck. I finally had some success with finding similar canisters when I tried ebay and etsy. If you want to search ebay or etsy, I suggest using the search terms "german porcelain canisters" or "mepoco german" or "block canisters" or other variants. (There are actually some beautiful sets on eBay right now, but they'll be gone too quickly to make it worth preserving the links here.) It is especially difficult to find a good set that still has all the pieces and all the lids and when you do, they're not inexpensive.

Since I never found a set that coordinated with my kitchen—most sets with an acceptable pattern were delft blue which really didn't work for me—I finally compromised on a modern good-enough-for-now round copper set and I continue to keep my eye out for a nice antique or reproduction set. (The copper set is already showing signs of wear after less than 2 years of use.)

I have to admit I gave up on the drainer. Rubbermaid does carry a large chrome dish drainer but the reviews for it complain that it starts to rust almost immediately. It is also possible to find quite a few vintage wire dish racks, but again, I imagine they'll all suffer the same rusting fate. So, for now, I content myself with a plastic-coated rubbermaid dish rack. I am on the look out for a decent looking option in stainless steel and when I find one, I'll update this post and buy it.

Fortunately wire bale jars are very easy to find. They're literally carried all over; here is a 12 pack at Amazon. The lids for mason jars look to have gotten smaller, but they're also period as well. They're carried everywhere, especially at your neighborhood garage sales which is the most affordable way I've found to pick up quite a few of them.

One great place to shop for old style kitchen gear is Lehman's. (No, I'm not being paid for the endorsement in anyway; I'm just a happy customer.) They cater to amish and other folks off the grid and they carry non-electric versions of a whole lot of kitchen gadgets. And especially of note, if you need those little rubber rings for your old bale close jars, they carry them. They also currently have a beautiful set of heritage blue stripe stoneware that would be tempting if my kitchen cabinets were not already bulging.

I did manage to score a 1914 toaster off eBay that didn't cost a fortune.

In examining the old pictures, there seemed to be a lot of enamel-coated bowls and cooking pots in the photos. You can still buy those too, but they are NOT cheap. A reputable brand, Le Creuset, is having a sale right now—their 11-piece set is $1000! And while you can find less expensive alternatives at places like Target, I have no idea how they would hold up to regular use.

In concluding this post, when I first started shopping for our kitchen, I actually expected I would be able to find more period-style items, but it was disappointingly difficult. With our current disposable everything-made-in-China culture, I guess we have moved on. The good stuff made to last is too expensive and the cheap stuff just doesn't look like the traditional items anymore. There is just so much stuff made from plastic now.

Period Kitchen Photographs

I'm always interested in finding pictures of authentic early 1900s kitchen interiors because it gives you a chance to see the kind of stuff visible in a working kitchen. I wanted to answer questions like, what did they use for dish drainers? What did they store food in? Canisters? Jars? Since most kitchens did not have an over abundance of cabinet space we have today, how did they store utensils and pots?

I set out to answer some of these questions by digging through old books and photograph websites. I've collected quite a few images over the past couple of years and I thought I would share some here.

From The Craftsman Magazine, Sep 1906. I'm wondering what that interesting rack to the left of the sink is. A towel rack? Some sort of dish rack?

From The Craftsman Magazine, Sep 1906. I like the canisters in this picture. I think that cloth hanging on the back of the door might have been for hand drying.

From The Craftsman Magazine, Sep 1906. Apparently vertical wall space was fair game for storing stuff.

Custom Stencil Business

I've decided to try setting up a small custom stencil business.

I'm in the process of buying a real stencil cutting machine (one that can handle mylar) and I'm planning to offer a limited number of designs (to start) from my stencil research where the buyer chooses the design and it's scaled to the desired size and then cut out of durable, reusable mylar.

The ordering of the machine and supplies are happening this week and then you guys should start seeing quite a few stencil trials as I practice with the software and fine-tuning the process.

This is not going to be a get-rich scheme, but more a labor of love. I don't even know if I'll make any money at it, though it would be nice to at least break even. =)

The idea of this project really appeals to me so I guess we'll see how it goes. What do you guys think? Bad idea? Good idea?

The stencils I cut for the dining room curtains

The stencils I cut for the dining room runners

Period Book: Successful Houses (1902)

On my continuing quest to find good early 1900s sources for furnishing middle class bungalows, I ran across Successful Houses by Oliver Coleman. This is another opinionated, and vastly entertaining book dating from 1902. It can be downloaded for free from Internet Archive here. And while it does mostly seem to give at least equal treatment to painted Victorian-type decor, it does still have some fun and useful bits for us craftsman style enthusiasts.

Once I read the beginning of the Introduction, I knew I wanted to continue reading:

"There are comparatively few people at one time or another do not have to face the problem of household furniture and decoration, and who do not as such times experience a sensation of comparative helplessness. To assist them there have been published two classes of books only, one in which the information is of the most shocking character, utterly devoid of taste, judgment or good sense; the other in which the laws are of a learned and technical character, but difficult by private persons in their own homes. Many of the latter class of publications are great authority, and could their intent be thoroughly absorbed would lead to radical improvements in the popular idea of household decoration; but unfortunately, besides the ponderous text, the illustrations are usually chosen from views of palaces and other great houses, and convey no suggestions to the discouraged housewife with a few hundred dollars to expend at most." (emphasis added)

This book is a little difficult to pull the relevant parts down into a reasonable size blog post. There are literally so many hilarious comments about their current practices that I'm tempted to over-quote the book because the humor would be lost in a summary, but, I obviously cannot do that. I can include some of my favorite quotes and recommend this book to those of you who get a kick out of decorating books like this. It's really too bad modern books aren't written in this style anymore. They're all written so as not to offend anyone so they seem so bland and uninteresting.

For instance, when talking about art, he says, "The need of [pictures] is never half as great as most of us suppose and here, they never should be hung simply to fill walls, regardless of their worth. What weak, insipid things, what base and ill-made copies, what plate-worn etchings and process colored plates are here often flaunted in the face of every stranger who may enter, and on the very threshold cry out to him how little taste and judgment there is within the house!"

And later he adds: "ornaments for the sake of ornament should find no place. The vases should be of a character to hold flowers, the candlesticks to give light and the fireplace to hold a fire." You should design and furnish your drawing room to put guests at ease, not to "astonish with a lavish display."

His book seemed to have the opinion that paint was the poor man's solution to decorating, "Those who have but little wealth should as a last resort turn . . . to paint." "It is painted furniture to which I would now refer as the third class of possibilities. One may often by diligent search among the marts of commerce discover chairs and tables and even sideboards of simple, good design. These pieces when so found are usually lacquered over with some species of yellow shellac and varnish which makes them unfit for any ornamental purpose. But paint will cover all."

Then there follow quite a few chapters on general decorating schemes. Mr. Coleman gives quite a lot of advice about finishing in colors, papers, and fabrics; advice for finishing the cheaper woods; artificial illumination and finishing with small ornaments. There are really too many suggestions to be copied here; if you're interested, go download the book and read it. But here I share a few of my favorite parts:

". . . in the treatment of walls and ceilings lies much of the success or failure in the outcome of a room. If it be warm and bright, the room will surely be so also; while if, upon the other hand, the coloring be in neutral tints, afraid to say its say, the room will have a dingy, faded look, which nothing in the furniture can recompense. . . I would have color in every room, bright, strong, cheering color, that should make sunshine on the darkest day, warmth on the coldest, and cheer on the saddest."

"The excellence of wooden walls and ceilings cannot be overstate. They have a solidity and dignity which otherwise came with the use of stone only, yet have much more of the qualities of home. Finished in natural colors, if the quality allows, age and the passing years can only add new beauties and bring out new charms."

"The bric-à-brac must be subservient to the general decorative scheme of the house, and must not fasten itself in every corner and on every wall until the house shall look like a curiosity shop or an auction room."

There is a chapter on using portieres, which I quoted in its entirety in  this blog post.

Portiere

And there is a chapter on using soft woods, which were a cheaper option for most folks. (Our house is finished in a soft wood, douglas fir.) "The simplest way to finish stained wood is to cover the stain with one or two coats of raw linseed oil; while the best way is to give it three coats of thin-spirit white shellac, and rub with pumice-stone and oil to give it a dead, even finish."

I think many of his ideas are still valid today, though obviously only one opinion among many different opinions of his time.

Living room

Mahogany dining room

Library - I find it interesting that none of the chairs match

Gluing Closet Boards

We've gotten ourselves in gear on house projects again. Getting the house cleaned up for company actually provided a bit of motivation to keep moving. We made forward progress on the closet project. When I last posted about them, we had planed the boards and then I had sanded off the remaining dirt and paint.

A couple weeks ago, Jeff had a friend come over and they went off to the garage to play with our tongue & groove router bits. While the joints are not perfect, they're good enough for a closet. It was particularly difficult since this was all salvaged wood and not necessarily the same thickness throughout.

Finally yesterday we got out there and started gluing all the pairs of boards. We would glue up two boards and clamp them, then wait an hour or two before cleaning up the excess glue with a scraper and removing the clamps. It took us a couple days to finish all the pairs.

After the boards get a chance to thoroughly dry, we're planning to cut these down to width for the closet. Most of them need to be 16" wide. We're actually thinking about making an appointment with the commercial shop—if it's still available—to continue on this project. That shop is just so nice to use (dust collection!). Plus we could cut down and bring some more boards to plane them.

As an aside, we've done a bunch of cooking this week. Last weekend we scored 40 pounds of apricots so we spent quite a bit of time working on preserving them for the winter. Jeff also went and picked another 2 flats of strawberries so we've been busy. If you're interested in what we made, go visit Jeff's food blog, Chez Vorax.

And so I can "claim" my blog on Bloglovin'. I'm adding this quick link here. Excuse the interruption.
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