Blogging the House: Vital Stats

Friday, June 22, 2007

Vital Stats

There are a number of, well, numbers that I'm going to need to be able to access as I make purchases for the house. Just so I always have them handy, I'm going to put them here.

In addition, I'd appreciate it if my friends and relatives who like antiquing could keep an eye out for antique 5-panel doors (doesn't have to be oak--fir or pine is just fine) for us. Our house came with one original 5-panel door (at right), a smaller, plainer version that leads to a closet, and another 5-panel door that had been modified to hold a glass pane where two of the panels used to be. The rest of the doors in the house are a uniform hideous cheapness--dinky little hollow things that feel like they're made of cardboard. Why anyone would replace a lovely, solid-wood door with that ghastly flimsiness, I cannot guess. Anyway, we'd like to replace them back again.

I'll put the dimensions we're looking for below. If you come across any for a reasonable price (less than $90--I've even seen them for as low at $55 online), I'd be very grateful if you'd give me a call. We probably won't be able to afford more than one at a time, so this will be an ongoing project.

Similarly, we're looking for nifty antique door knobs. This house, which has 8 interior doors downstairs, has only 1 original doorknob (see left). We adore old doorknobs--so much personality!--so we'd like to replace the dismal modernities with something a little older and more interesting.

I'm not very picky about these, just so long as they're old and don't have paintings of pheasants on them. They don't need to match each other or anything. I do prefer dark metal finishes, however. The house is from ~1910-1920, so knobs from the early 20c would be ideal. I don't think we'd want to pay much more than $35 for a door knob. Again, if you see anything you think I'd like, please let me know. Thanks antiquers!