Learn a bit about kingwood, and marvel over the finished product. Robert Whitley is a wonder.
Nov
14
Oct
6
Here is part two of the series I started on Sept. 28. Mr. Whitley has to add a lot of little pieces of wood and do some very fine chiseling and shaping. Makes you appreciate the restorers craft.
Sep
28
In my search for quality videos related to antique furniture and Victorian furniture in general, I came across this one. It’s a video made by a restorer named Robert Whitley, who runs a restoration studio in New Hope, PA.
The video is the first of a five part series of videos in which Mr. Whitley tackles the difficult job of restoring a high end Victorian consol cabinet that has some significant damage. I myself couldn’t imagine bringing it back to its original splendor.
This first episode sets the stage for what promises to be an interesting job. Keep your eye out for the next four.
Dec
16
The Press-Enterprise ran an article this past Saturday about a home in Riverside, CA that will be featured in an 8-page spread in the February issue of Victorian Homes magazine. The home, purchased four years ago in ramshackle condition by Tony and Wilma Burton, now “looks like it’s out of a fairy tale,” says Merrie Destefano, editor of Victorian Homes.
The home was built in 1893 by Civil War veteran David Gilson Mitchell, a founding father of Riverside County. The Burtons didn’t know its story when they bought the house, but they studied their history and then put over $100,000 into the restoration of the home. They purchased 19th century furnishings in antique stores, at estate sales, and on eBay.
The Burtons now live upstairs and “keep the first floor as a museum.” A photo of the dining room would suggest that this delightful “museum” is quite full of antique Victorian furniture. The music room features a period fainting couch, called by Victorian Homes an “ode in oak to Eastlake.”
We’ll have to wait for the February issue of Victorian Homes to get the full story. In the meantime, here’s the article from The Press-Enterprise.
Nov
22
Have you heard of the Victorian bathing machine? Evidently it was all the rage back in the day when modesty prevailed at the beach.
The Victorian bathing machine was a little hut that was wheeled along the beach. At appropriate spots it would be backed into the water. Women would enter the hut through the door in front, change into their bathing outfits, then exit through a rear door, where a cradle was waiting to lower them into the ocean. The point was to allow them to bathe safely and unobserved, especially by the young men armed with telescopes!
Click here to read an article in the Telegraph about the plans to restore one of these remarkable machines in Aldeburgh, Suffolk. There’s a delightful old photo with the article that shows a man and a little girl taking a look at one of them.
Nov
21
I am in awe of people who have the knowledge, energy, and other resources to restore homes that look to me beyond repair. In my quest to find the best material on antique Victorian furniture, I came across a site put up by a couple named Craig and Yvonne, devoted to the restoration of their 1875 Eastlake Victorian home.
It’s one of the best sites of its kind that I’ve seen. It goes room by room with countless photos and has a great mouse-over feature that allows you to see many of the areas in their pre-restoration state.
The house has 38 Victorian doors, and we are treated to a step-by-step gallery of photos as one of the doors goes from bleak to beautiful. Hat’s off to these two, both for the incredible work they’ve done on their home and for the exceptional site they’ve built to share it with us.
As far as furniture goes, you’ll see some nice pieces in the reception hall and the dining room. I’d love to get more of their thoughts on furnishing the home now that they’ve done such an amazing job of restoration.
Click here to see Craig and Yvonne’s restored Victorian home.
Nov
1
I came across a newspaper article about a woman named Jean Barnes who restores antique Victorian furniture in a shop in Stantonsburg, North Carolina. She started her business 32 years ago, with a bit of personal experience and the need to support her children. She also had a love of history and inherited a few antiques from her grandfather.
Jean specializes in Victorian pieces with woods like mahogany and walnut that are uncommon today. She even supplies furniture for movie sets.
As she is interviewed, Jean discusses an 1860 Victorian sofa, with a hand-carved, walnut back. “A good piece of antique furniture is constructed so much better than the newer stuff; the craftsmanship is better.”
“You cannot get wood like this new,” she says.
Take a look at the article. It will remind you why we love this furniture so much.
Oct
27
I had the fortune of stumbling onto an absolutely breathtaking post on the Cote de Texas blog. Joni, the blog’s author, begins by describing the Great Storm of 1900 that destroyed the city of Galveston, Texas. As Joni tells it, Galveston was actually a major city at the time, bigger than Houston. But it has never really recovered from the storm. The photo she shows of Galveston the day after the storm is startling. Total devastation.
Joni then goes on to talk about the revitalization that’s going on in Galveston’s historical neighborhoods, which are full of Victorian homes that survived the storm or were constructed soon after it but later suffered through many years of neglect and deterioration.
She treats us to a stunning gallery of photos of these homes. I cannot do them justice in words. You’re going to have to take a look at them. They’re jaw-dropping, and there are lots of them. The houses that survived the storm wear a special plaque. The picture of the plaque alone gave me goose-bumps.
Take your time with this one and be sure to read Joni’s excellent and well-written commentary on the photos. As a bonus for us, she has some very good shots of the antique Victorian furniture contained in some of the houses. A word of warning: Joni herself doesn’t like Victorian furniture. I do concede, though, that I agree with her when she says a house at the beach needs beachy furniture. Her negative remarks on the furniture also start a lively discussion in the comment area that’s worth a read.
This is a high-quality post on a high-quality blog. Thanks, Joni!