Saturday, September 18, 2010

Vintage made new

Five years ago, I went to my first Holy Hill Arts and Crafts Fair.  One of the booths had a man from Indiana who made birdhouse decorations out of vintage Victorian salvage.  They were quite pricey and therefore I was not prepared to buy one.  I vowed I would return the next year and purchase one.  Well, life  happens and I had never been able to return to the fair because I always worked weekends.  I never forgot them, in fact, I've lusted after them ever since then.  
This is my year.  I went armed with plenty of cash and conquered.  I had chosen from his dozens of wares within seconds.  
The pictures don't quite do it justice.  It really is stunning.  The eaves are comprised of crown moulding...

A brass gas spigot adorns the top.  A hose would be attached to the front and the gas would be turned on and off with the the circle shaped 'key'.

An intricately designed copper doorknob plate serves as a backboard for the vintage glass doorknob.  Oh  how the sunlight dances off this feature!

The boards of the house are retired paneled doors given a fresh coat of paint which is then distressed to add to the vintage appeal....  Perhaps my second favorite feature is the appropriately-used pressed tin roof.  I would buy a Victorian house just to have one of these...

The last embellishment is a genuine drill bit topped off with a door stopper.

The completed house is encircled with a vine of fine cranberry and ivory faux berries.

I don't  have much for decorations in my home because I despise knicknacks and I firmly believe that less is more.  This decoration is by far my most favorite decoration in the house and probably will be forever.  My lust is satisfied.  For today.  :)


2 comments:

  1. Ohhhh....I love it...so neat. Beautiful. Glad you got to satisfy your desire to have this piece of art!

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  2. Glad you had great fun at Holy Hill. Last time I went it was "holy hell". I want to go back to Holy Hill this fall... Last year I took Anya when she had just turned 4. Thought the view of the trees turning would be wonderful. She was starting to read sight words and knew the word for elevator and saw the sign with an arrow. I said, "Nope no elevator." She's pointing at the sign. Great, that meant several rides up and down. Friar #1 was looking disgruntled every time the door opened on first floor. Maybe he had a vow of silence because he didn't say a thing to me. I decided I wanted to go try to go into the church part... Anya was OK to go... until we got inside the doors and I tell her, "OK now, you need to be quiet in God's church. OK?" Anya screams on the top of her lungs over and over "THIS IS NOT GOD'S CHURCH!" Friar #2 looking exceedingly disturbed probably wondering if they needed to be performing an exorcism. I had to pick her up and get her out fast... then she's upset because she didn't want to leave. I finally get her down the hill and she calmly tells me, "Mommy, it's a basilica, not a church." Evidently the sign on the way in had said basilica. Which she pointed on the way out. Wonderful, why couldn't she calmly tell me that inside the church?

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