Reuse. Rehabilitate. Restore. Architectural salvage and repurposed pieces for the home.
BMRA is not for profit educational and research group whose goal is to encourage the reuse of building materials during deconstruction. It is a membership based group that brings together demolition companies and recycling organizations.
So what does that mean for the homeowner? Well, the site lists state by state directories of members and non members in the business. This includes salvage companies, reclaimed lumber and demolition services.
January 13 & 14
148 Beach Street, Stapleton, SI
9am-dusk
Contact: Cyrus 718-909-2042
Over the weekend we schlepped out to Staten Island to look at some flooring I found on Craigs. When I spoke to the guy (Cyrus) over the phone he informed me that a 1790 frame building was coming down and there were more goodies in an old brick structure. There was wide plank flooring, antique beams and clapboard siding amidst the ruins and I can have for $100. It sounded too good to be true!Continue reading Junk Liquidation Auction
Our window has been looking like this for 2 years. And our porch still looks like this.
One of the things we fell in love with in our Beacon home was the wavy glass of the antique windows. Every window in the house is original wood, hardware and glass. Some of them don’t work too well and they are all terribly DRAFTY! But there was no way we’d ever even think of replacing them. So, we set out to restore them.Continue reading Keeping Your Antique Windows
We took a trip to San Fransisco a couple of years ago and I just found my photos on a card I haven’t used since. Hmm, never did that with a roll of film. Anyway, I remember taking hours and hours to search for the perfect Victorian B&B. We decided upon Chateau Tivoli in the Alamo Square district.
Built in 1892 and operating as a fully restored B & B by 1989, the building has seen alot of history pass through it’s doors. But the restoration is what fascinates me. The exterior features 17 colors of paint. Inside, the wood work is to die for. And then there’s the wallpaper and hand painted molding and medallions. The restoration took 4 years to complete. But I’m sure Craig and Yvonne could’ve done it in a few months.
Here are a few vacation snappies I took. Please overlook the unmade bed and low resolution. I was on vacation!Continue reading SF Painted Lady: Chateau Tivoli
I first discovered Our Victorian House shortly after we went into contract on Our Own Victorian House in Beacon. I visited the site frequently for inspiration. When I showed it to my husband, filling him in on my intentions, he felt the need to send an email to Craig and Yvonne…something to the effect of “How dare you give my wife these crazy ideas? Thanks alot, buddy!”
Three years later and sidetracked by a totally different restoration, I just checked back on their site. They’re, like, finished.
I hate them.
Hate them because they had the focus to stick to one house and finish it.
Hate them because their house is so friggen beautiful.
Hate them because they were able to afford massive amounts of Bradbury wallpaper when they said they’re not rich.
Hate them because they used real artisans for detailing I attempt to do myself.
Hate them because they even finished the exterior! Oh, how I hate them for that!
Hate them because of that green eyed monster we call “Envy”.
So, you think you’re so great, Craig and Yvonne? Well, why don’t you come to Beacon and show us what you can do with this house? I dare you!
Yeah, I thought you would back down. Losers.
I’m a total preservationist when it comes to antiques, yet I get this. It’s groovy baby. Yeah. Quite a few London designers are giving antique pieces a new life by vandalizing them.
German, Dutch trained designer Martin Baas is burning chairs, Burke and Hazelden are painting graffiti on armoires and Le Tramac is upholstering day beds in high gloss colorful PVC.
I hope they are only working with pieces that are beyond restoration, but I have a feeling that’s not always the case.
I paint furniture sometimes. My criteria is:
1. The wood has to be so severely damaged that most of the piece would need to be faux painted.
2. Ugly wood. Never a nice piece to begin with.
3. Parts missing that need to be replaced with new wood. If it’s an otherwise perfect and valuable piece of furniture or home detail, I’ll find an antique piece of wood to match.
The hubby won’t let me do pink.
If you’re a sucker for old homes like we are, you probably want to keep your decor historically accurate. It’s not easy and it’s a bit frustrating at times. As much as we love Victorians (so much that we needed 2 of them), sometimes I wish we were converting a garage space so I can do all sorts of funky things. But that’s the next project.
Actually, we’ll be more creative with the Beacon Queen Anne than the Bed Stuy brownstone. We were inspired by the former owner’s style, which is more Nouveau/Deco than Victorian. We’ve continued with that style in wall coverings and lighting and we’ll also throw in some Gothic splash just for fun. The exterior, which we’ve been promising to do for 3 years, is going to be total crazy color San Fransisco painted lady. Or the closest we can get away with being in a historic district.
Here’s some help for narrowing down your home’s period and decor.
Identifying Your Home’s Style
Architectural Styles
Period Decor
Saturday, Dec 1, 2007, 1 to 5 p.m.
Anatomy of a Brownstone Part 6: Going Green
Greening your House and Living Sustainably
Seminar on Green Restoration and Renovation
City Tech
300 Jay Street, Downtown Brooklyn.
Admission: $35 per person
Register in advance by calling 718.552.1170.
Interactive lectures with architects, contractors, designers, green building firms and the folks from Keyspan, Con Ed and Energy Star.
CEU Credits for Real Estate and New Jersey State Home Inspectors may be available for this course.
For more information, contact Debra Salomon at dsalomon@citytech.cuny.edu.
Copied and pasted this from my inbox. How lazy am I?
The Hudson River Heritage has been asked by the State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to help bring people out for a very important meeting that will ask residents to provide input for the State’s 2007-2011
Historic Preservation Plan.
The goal is to identify how to incorporate historic preservation into cost-effective environmentally-friendly community improvement and economic development activities, such as the redevelopment of existing resources, energy,conservation and smart growth initiatives.
A Mid-Hudson Valley meeting will be held in Kingston on November 15, 2007, 6:30 p.m., City Hall, 2nd Floor
Common Council Chamber, 420 Broadway.
OPRHP is planning a second set of meetings to be held in New York City, Cold Spring Harbor, Ithaca, Waterford, and Yonkers, to be announced soon.
Can you name this former East Village dive bar?
Old Skool New Yorker that I am, I’ve been a fan of Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York for a while now. So I was excited when I came across an article in the Times featuring Jeremiah Moss (not his real name). Ok, the article is a week old, but I only came across it yesterday.
Jeremiah moved from Massachusetts to the East Village 15 years ago, a few years after I had already declared the neighborhood a tourist trap. Little did I know how much worse it could get (or better, if you prefer the new improved suburbanized NYC). On the main page of Vanishing NY is an image of Travis Bickle with gun in hand. The text underneath reads “yuppies, hipsters, real estate developers, billionaire businessmen, frat boys, princesses…”someday a real rain will come and wash all this scum off the streets”. Gotta love it!
Of the places on Mr. Moss’ death watch list are the Polish-Ukrainian East Village Meat Market and B & H Dairy. There is a photo of him taken in front of Katz’s Deli, which is something I worry about since the death of Morris Dell earlier this year. His son Alan is co-owner of Katz’, along with Fred Austin. It was my understanding that Morris had alot to do with the purchase of the deli, although Alan is running the show.
Another East Village landmark which I know isn’t going to last too much longer is the Holiday Cocktail Lounge. Owner Stefan is in his late 80’s and although he owns the building, his sons don’t want to take over the bar. I hope Holiday (and Stefan) hold on at least another 9 months so my husband and I can celebrate our 20th anniversary there. It was, after all, where we met.
Jean over at I Love Upstate hooked me up with Howard Hall Farm. I had never heard of them, but what a great find!
My husband doesn’t realize how easy he has it with our tiny home renovations! In 2005, Nora and Reggie purchased the 1780’s stone house overlooking the Hudson in Athens, NY on a whim. The home was in terrible disrepair due to years of neglect.
Howard Hall Farm is not just a restoration project. The Federal style home has become a vehicle for educating people on sustainable restoration techniques. Classes and workshops are taught on site (Really….are they just trying to get people to help work on their house?) and a TV may be in the works.
And for anyone doubting living through their own renovations, here’s a positive take on things from Reggie… “We sometimes struggle with the amount of work, living among the dirt and workers, chaos and squalor, but imagine someday we will too be past this phase with a beautiful restoration to show for it, and another slice of important Hudson river history preserved for posterity.”
A department of The National Park Service, Technical Preservation Services has been assisting homeowners and industry people for over 30 years. They publish books, pamphlets and videos on preservation and rehabilitation of historic buildings.
And of course, there’s the website. It’s just chock full of information. They have preservation briefs on how to repair historic windows, slate roof tile, maintenance of cast iron, oh, you name it!
The site includes a guide to the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives Program for income producing properties.
There’s also a fun interactive online education program which features a couple of quizzes. I love quizzes.
The NY Times featured an article on the couple behind the Sterling Place shops this weekend. The article was titled “The Ultimate Recyclers“, so they had me at “The”.
First of all, check out the pictures of this couple’s house! I damaged my keyboard from all the drool. Ms. Cromwell lets us know they haven’t changed any of the detail in the house and the craftspeople who created stuff like this no longer exist. It’s funny….Eddie said the exact same thing. Someone told him that over 30 years ago. Sad, but true.
Mr. Wilson on his introduction to collecting: “My parents were always going to auctions and buying unusual pieces. Their house just became more and more filled until they literally had boxes and boxes and boxes of stuff. They kind of lost control of the house.” I shouldn’t let my husband see this. We’ve already lost control of a number of rooms in 2 homes, the garage, driveway and basement.
Sterling Place has 2 locations, in Park Slope and Boerum Hill, as well as the online store.
The 29th Annual Bed Stuy House Tour is taking place this Saturday, October 20th. Brownstoners of Bedford-Stuyvesant, the group behind the tour, has been doing this since the 70’s, when NYC had “bad neighborhoods” and Bed Stuy was near the top of the list.
29 years ago, the BBS’s goal was to keep folks from leaving by educating them on home ownership and creating a strong community. These days, they want to spread the message that it’s not an impossible dream to own a home in the rediscovered area.
The day kicks off with a 9am home buyers workshop. The tour begins at 11am at 832 Marcy and tickets are $20. Visit website for more info on where to buy advanced tickets.
NY Daily News
Bed Stuy Blog
“Hudson Valley Ruins, Forgotten Landmarks of An American Landscape” is both heartbreaking and beautiful. The subjects, like Norma Desmond, are faded and forgotten, yet haunting all the same. Thomas E. Rinaldi and Robert J. Yasinac share their passion of these once grand structures. The book, originally released in September 2006, is now in second edition.
The Demolition Alert on their website points out all of the buildings already gone or in danger of being lost. Among them is the Red Apple Rest Stop on Route 17, where my family would stop on the way to the Catskills bungalow colony for the weekend (Yes, I am sooo stereotypical NY Jew.) and the Dennings Point Brick Works Factory in Beacon.
I’m ready for my close up.
