MY FRONT PORCH

    I am rather taken with the look and feel of my front porch on Hawthorne Avenue.  Looking at the white fan against the soothing blue of the ceiling and the whimsy of the leaf motif on the early gas (converted to electric by Kyle) fixture pleases me.

This is where I will be this Friday evening with a cool bottle of wine, some cheese, water crackers, and fresh fruit.  Friends, if you are in the neighborhood, stop by and visit.  There will be room on the wicker swing or in a rocker!

CALLING FOR INSPECTION

    The house is rewired and the remaining interior lighting fixtures are hung.  It is time to call for inspection.  We have an eclectic mix fixtures.  Does anyone have a favorite?

In the kitchen

2nd floor hallway

3rd floor stairwell

Vintage fixture in master bath over tub

Screened porch - vintage fixture

Library lights to shine on shelves

Vintage fixture in entry

Dining room - hand forged pewter fixture

Butler's pantry

Octopus light in back stairwell

Back bath

Vintage fixture in upstairs hall

Master bath sconce

Master bedroom - bedside sconce

Vintage fixture - stair landing

BACK WHERE THEY BELONG

A month ago I was re-wiring old fixtures.  Today they are all in place...back where they belong.

Before : March 2011

After: August 2012

Before: March 2011

After: August 2012

Before : March 2011

After : August 2012

IMPATIENCE

   Patience is said to be a virtue, but in the case of getting this house ready for final inspections I am completely without that particular virtue.  This past weekend Wallace, Donnie and I spent our time doing some of the contractor's work so that we might get our certificate of occupancy this week.

Installing an antique street light in the kitchen

I install a light kit in a fan to make up for the contractor error of not wiring a switch to an outlet
(View from the light at ceiling)

Wallace and I attach the remaining 30 switch plates and outlet covers on the first floor.  Donnie gets rid of a 'dummy' switch in the 1/2 bath (Having a 3rd switch that does nothing would drive me crazy for years to come) and patches the hole left in the drywall.  All this should put the electrician a day ahead.  Fingers crossed!

    Remember the shower disaster a week ago?  It is repaired.  Donnie installed a new shower pan and we tested it Saturday.  No leak in the pan.  No leak in the drain.  No leak in the plumbing.  He then patched the gaping hole with sheet rock and will give it all a finish coat this week so painters can go over the scar.  

Pipes and beams are covered with sheet rock

A DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH

    After acquiring all the light fixtures for the house this past year, we brought them to Hawthorne Ave. last week to be installed.  The electrician noticed that the 2 fixtures sold to me as exterior lights are actually labeled inside the fixture "not for outside use".  Putting the fixtures back in their boxes to be returned, we went in search of replacements....fast.  Paul's Place to the rescue.  Anne at Paul's Place pulled out numerous fixtures, most in need of some work.  The one I decided to fall for needs perhaps the most work.  It figures!

A little scrubbing with fine steel wool revealed some brass detailing.

BEFORE

AFTER

This one will hang above the door on the 2nd floor deck out back.  I've decided to clean it up and clear coat the fixture instead of paint it again.  I like how, with this treatment, this beauty's age shows.  

Stay tuned for the completely cleaned, re-wired , and refinished light fixture!  It should be sometime this week.

THERE HE GOES AGAIN....

    It was just a few days ago that I mentioned Kyle.  In addition to creating his own funky artwork, 

Kyle works at Paul's Place restoring and often resurrecting antique light fixtures.

We purchased this gas fixture several months ago from Paul's Place.

Kyle converted this early gas fixture to electric, maintaining the original features.  (Originally the house lighting was fueled by gas.  Several of the original house fixtures had been converted years ago but the front fixture was a small  Arts and Crafts lantern).

 Since the gas fixture was missing a canopy, Kyle took a paint laden canopy from another fixture,  
cleaned it up, gave it color and created patina to compliment the fixture, 

and VOILA !

    The electrician is scheduled to return tomorrow to hang more light fixtures.  Check back to see this beautiful fixture in its new home on my front porch.

THIS LITTLE LIGHT O' MINE

    With the weather being as hot as it has been, we spent a full day in the AC working on rewiring antique light fixtures.

Work surface

                                                                           

Original brass sconces will return to their places over 2 mantles

Even some of the original glass has survived the years

While the fixtures are still dirty and require some spit and polish, they all are rewired with up-to-date wiring instead of the deteriorated cloth-covered wire used with the old knob and tube wiring.

One particular fixture has given me a supreme challenge.  It is the small chandelier I purchased and cleaned up.  It was missing all it's wiring so we (Donnie and I) were working from scratch on this one.

Each of the 5 arms got individual wires

The candle fitting is re-attached

Wire is split and stripped  

Exposed copper is twisted and soldered

One of the arms gave me the devil.  The tail and the covered wire got stuck inside and broke off.  Nothing I did worked to remove the wire.

(Here is where I search for someone to salvage the project.)

The man of the hour (or actually 2 hours) is Kyle out at Reverie . studio.  Kyle is an artist and an electrical magician in my book.  He not only extracted the knotted up mess I created inside the small chandelier arm but also wired it for me.  I cannot sing enough praises!

This is not the first time Kyle has rescued us during this Hawthorne house project.  Several months ago when the drywall guys STOOD ON MY MANTLE and sent it crashing to the floor, Kyle took our damaged mantle, made a mold of the decorative corbel and used it to repair the damaged corbel.

The surrounding area is a mess but the mantle has been repaired to its original condition....Thanks to Kyle!

Go visit Kyle and the rest of the local artists out at Reverie.  There are loads of great works to add to anyone's eclectic collection.

I purchased this painting when I was out at Reverie!