VICTORIAN HARDWARE

One of the things I love most about our house is all of the original hardware.

The door knobs...

The pocket door handles...

The entry bolts...

the mortise locks and strike plates....

The hinges...

The sash locks...

The keyhole covers...

They are all heartbreakingly beautiful. And they are still here. After 120 years.

This is why I am going to make it my mission to replace any cheap, unattractive, modern hardware that managed to sneak in over the decades.

The first thing I'm going to tackle: the slide locks in the bathrooms.

Currently, they look like this...

But how much better would it be if they looked like this...?

This one is a cast iron reproduction of an original Aesthetic Movement slide lock from House of Antique Hardware. I think it would go perfectly with our Eastlake style original stuff. And it's only $13.49! Consider it mine.

**NOTE: The image at the top of this post is a page from the 1895 Montgomery Ward Catalog. And look! One of those keyhole covers is the EXACT same one we have on our front door! I love that.

IMAGES FROM THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

I am currently OBSESSED with the photo galleries on hubblesite.org.

The images of stars and nebulae and galaxies are all unbelievably magical. I mean...look at that picture above. That's what outer space looks like? Are there wizards and unicorns there too?

Here are some more of my faves.

CAT BATHROOM!

As promised, here's the scoop on the downstairs bathroom...which is now a pinky-pink wonderland of vintage cat photos.

Eventually, I'd like to do a COMPLETE overhaul. The sink is really dated...and not in a cute way. The toilet is newer...but I hate the style of it. It's too big and modern looking. And the floor? Ugh. Don't get me started on the floor. It's really unattractive vinyl tiling that I think is supposed to look like red clay tiles (maybe?)...but they're not fooling anybody. Trust me.

Unfortunately, it's gonna be a LONG time before we can afford to replace most of that stuff and give the bathroom the proper makeover it deserves. But, in the meantime, I figured I would do as much as I possibly could with a little bit of paint and some things we already own.

Here are a few before photos so you can see what I was working with. (And yes, those are stenciled paw prints.)

And here is what it looks like now.

I figured if you are trying to transform a room with little more than paint you better go for a statement color. So I went SUPER pink. I know it's over the top...but I personally love a kitschy pink bathroom...and I really had nothing to lose.

I painted the sink cabinet and mirror a dark charcoal gray. Still not awesome...but MUCH better.

And then I covered the place with vintage cat photos. That made ALL the difference.

The sweet vintage frames and black and white photos totally work with the pink and charcoal color scheme. And the bathroom certainly has personality now...which is what it was really lacking before.

Sadly, the hideous floor is still there...but I put this rug down so that I don't have to see quite as much of it.

Eventually, I would love to do the floor with the tile pattern below from American Restoration Tile.

And I think the room would look fantastic with a tin ceiling (painted the same shade of dark gray as the sink) and an art deco style light fixture. Maybe something like one of these two from Schoolhouse Electric.

Luckily, those are all manageable updates which would be fairly affordable as far as those things go. But for now I'll just keep adding cat pictures as I find them...because the bathroom's shortcomings and imperfections seem way less noticeable when there are so many cute kitties to stare at!

COLLECTION: VINTAGE CAT PHOTOS

Here's a sneak peek at one of my most favorite collections: old black and white photos of people with their cats. I get SO excited every time I find one. I mean...I love old photos to begin with. But old photos with CATS in them? I DIE.

I had been hoarding all of these gems in a box until recently...but I finally got down to business and merged them with one of my other collections: little decorative old frames.

(Okay, so the cat in the next photo isn't real...but how could I resist? I mean...look at that bow!)

These are just a few of the ones that I have put together. There are MANY more. And I gave them all a home on the walls of the downstairs bathroom....which I'm gonna show you in my next post. Can't wait!

IT’S HALLOWEEN*

Happy Halloween everybody!

Justin and I decided we're gonna dress up as Victorian zombies. Or, more accurately, as the ghosts of Lieutenant Roache and his wife...the original owners of our house when it was built in 1890. We are going to stay at home and hope for trick-or-treaters. So if you're in the neighborhood, stop by!

I was REALLY hoping to watch the 1987 masterpiece, “The Worst Witch”...but it's not available instantly on netflix OR on itunes. BUMMER. Maybe we'll go join a video store. Do those still exist?

If you are not familiar with the awesomeness of this seminal film, please see below:

(NOTE: The REALLY next level effects start at the 1 minute mark...so be patient)

* The title of this post was inspired by the Shaggs song. So here it is, for your listening pleasure:

The Shaggs, “It's Halloween”

GETTING FESTIVE

Justin and I are REALLY hoping we get a few trick-or-treaters this Halloween. Unfortunately, we live on a tiny dead end street that's off the beaten path...so it's definitely possible that no little ones will venture down here. But if they do I want our porch to look welcoming....so I gussied it up in the spirit of the season.

I got some really beautiful pinky purple mums and a couple of ornamental cabbages. I love the purples and minty greens with the bright orange of the pumpkins.

I decided to stick with that color palette for my Picasso inspired jack-o-lanterns.

I ended up painting them with screenprinting ink because I happened to have some lying around the house...but I doubt it's waterproof...so I gave them a good coat of matte varnish. Hopefully, now they will be able to withstand the elements.

The only part I actually carved out are the eyes. I LOVE the way they look all lit up at night.

I took Martha's advice and used a strand of twinkle lights wrapped around a jar to light the inside of the pumpkin. It's much brighter than a candle...and I won't be quite as worried about burning the house down.

We finished off the porch by hanging up some colored globe lights in orange, pinky-purple, and clear.

They make the front of the house look a zillion times happier. Justin and I are kinda tempted to leave them up year round.

WATCHING THE LEAVES CHANGE

Fall is truly magical upstate. I love waking up each morning and seeing the bright, beautiful leaves out my bedroom windows. And with all of the trees up here it's like every room in the house has a brand new view!

This is what I see when I walk out the front door...

And this amazingness is right around the corner...

I'm not that into the earthy palette usually associated with fall---browns, burnt oranges, yellows, maroons---but I REALLY respond to the crazy neon oranges and electric reds that I see on these trees around town. Apparently it's impossible to capture with my camera...but I swear, they look radioactive.