A How To Restore Antique Hardware Guide

One of 8 sets of door hardware I cleaned. About 80 years old.

Restoring the hardware in your home is typically not difficult, and not something so time-consuming or expensive that you shouldn’t learn how to do it for yourself.  Now that our renovation is mostly complete, I look back at our hardware restoration dollars spent as having the highest return on investment of any task we took on.  The value of the hardware in our home makes me want to part out my house and Ebay it like an old car.  I stripped multiple coats of paint off of all of the copper, brass, and chrome hardware in the house and most of it came out perfect.

Warnings:

1.  The actual condition of your hardware is unknown.  There might be a good reason it was painted.

2.  Plated metals are really hard to work with.  Chrome plating much older than 40 years is almost definitely toast.  Don’t expect much good to come out of these procedures if used on chrome hardware.  There is still hope for your chrome hardware, but that’s a different procedure than this article will address.

3.  Some of the chemicals used here are corrosive and produce toxic fumes.  Wear goggles, chemical resistant gloves old clothes, and a canvas or rubber apron.

4.  Let the chemicals do the work! Don’t go grinding and scratching furiously on your hardware or you’ll destroy it.  Then you’ll end up with hardware that will look a lot like it could have been very nice.

Your shopping list:

1.  Chemical Resistant Gloves: I got mine at Wal-Mart in the “janitorial” section.  They’re cheap, if you have much to do, buy two pairs.

2.  Goggles: get the full coverage style you remember from science class.  Probably overkill, but blind is forever.

3. Canvas Apron: a good cheap way to put another layer of protection between your skin and the stripper.

4. Paintbrush: gel stripper works best if painted on with a brush.  Buy a new one so you can be sure it’s clean.  Tag this brush so you don’t accidentally ruin a bucket of paint with it.

5.  Klean-Strip KS-3: a good gel-based stripper. Gel is safer because it clings to surfaces and is less likely to splatter.  I read a lot of people recommending citrus based stripper products for environmental reasons, but I haven’t tried it.

6.  WD-40:  You probably have some around already.

7.# 0000 Steel Wool: Don’t step up in grit and think that your work will get done faster. This is for polishing and cleaning, not sanding/abrading.

8.  Wire Brush: Get one that’s just soft enough to brush against your skin. More bristles will move more gunk and scratch less.

9.  Fine tools: toothbrush, razor blade for getting into tiny spaces where the stripper has a hard time penetrating.

10. White T-shirt Rags: just go ahead and buy a box of jersey rags because you’ll burn through tons of them.  The white color is so you can clearly tell what is getting removed, and so that no dyes or screen printing dissolves while you’re working.

11.  Metal or Glass Tray or Pan and a Soupcan: thrift store cookware will be fine here, or grab a cheap metal paint roller tray.

This is all commonly available, and all adds up to a little under $100.  I told you this was cheap!

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Our Retro Kitchen Hardware to Complete Our Retro 50’s Kitchen

"Fancy" 5 cent pulls (only 2 of those)

OK, so it took me some time to find the kitchen drawer and cabinet hardware that I wanted, but I did find it. I wanted something chrome-like and 50’s dinner or 30’s streamline moderne. In the basement, there were some built-ins with the coolest pulls. I wanted something like that. The items offered at Lowe’s were either Scandinavian modern or country kitchen. Not what I wanted. Here’s what I wanted and how I got it:

Our kitchen. Don't judge me on the mess. No dishwasher 😦

Hickory Hardware "The American Diner" knob, reproduction

For the cabinets we purchased from Van Dyke’s Restorers “The American Diner Knob” in Chrome. We paid less than $2.50 for each. I don’t know if Van Dyke’s is carrying the chrome knob anymore. We of course ordered many of them and needed one more. Van Dyke’s was sold out. We found our last one on Amazon for more money. The American diner knob is manufactured by Hickory Hardware. So if you are looking for this style of knob, search for places that sell Hickory Hardware. Total cost for us: $21.50 plus shipping (including Amazon knob). I think shipping was like $9 (ordered some other things). And I had to buy that lonesome knob from Amazon for like $4.50.

OK, now to the drawers. I wanted something that matched the built-ins in the basement. We looked and looked. We were about to order The Deco Drawer Pull from Rejuvenation in Polished Chrome. This beautiful pull retails for $16 each. Ouch, we’d have to buy 13 of them. But, I was sick of looking and I wanted to open and use my drawers. By chance that afternoon I went to our local Habitat for Humanity thrift store. I found the pulls picture here for 5¢ each! OK, so they aren’t as jazzy as the Deco Drawer Pull. But, they are so cheap, in awesome condition, and are original. I picked up more than I needed (in case I didn’t notice rust or needed to replace a few). I even got a set that was very fancy. I used these on the cabinets under the sink. It pays to thrift! Now looking at all of them up. I think I like these better than The Deco Drawer Pull because they are simple. The kitchen has

5 cents kitchen "plain" retro pulls

more of a pink/aqua 50’s vibe and the ones that we have “fit” better. Total cost for us: 65¢

We were fortunate enough to have these hinges already on the bottom cabinets. They cleaned up nicely. They aren’t perfect but I’m not going for perfect. I’m also going for cheap. Total cost to us: $0

Our total on kitchen hardware: under $30 (including shipping) for 20 drawers and doors. We didn’t have to buy screws for the vintage hardware. We already had that lying around.

Guide to Retro Hardware:

Looking for retro hardware or retro looking hardware? Look at dealers such as Van Dyke’s Restorers. Do not overlook their clearance page. It has awesome deals! Who knows? Maybe what you want is on sale or you can settle for something similar. If you know you like a reproduction knob/pull. Find out who the manufacturer is and search for them on-line. Find the best deal that way. Love the ease of Internet shopping! If you’re not on a budget search at places like Rejuvenation or Anthropologie.Don’t forget about salvage yards, thrift stores, and even antique stores. Sometimes you can find a great deal like we did. By thrifting we saved over $205! If you choose to go the thrift route be prepared to look and look. Keep a list of the number of knobs/pulls that you need and their dimensions on your phone or in your wallet. And if your going cheap, don’t forget to mix and match. It can look really great and polished. Check out kitchens in design magazines. They usually use up to 5 different knob/pull designs in a large kitchen. I need to add that sometimes salvage yards will make “trades”. Have a 40’s sink you switched out for something else? Trade it for hardware. (I’d call before hauling a sink around). Also check out vendors on Etsy. Etsy has options that fit into the no budget range and the budget range. It’s worth checking out.

*I’m not the best at pictures. Excuse my crummy quality. Photographing small chrome things is not easy. Also, this is a living and working kitchen. Excuse my crummy mess. I don’t have the mad skills to Photoshop the dirty dishes out 🙂

Original hinges

-Victoria

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Will Our Retro Kitchen Ever Be Finished?

Our unfinished kitchen

I think it is only appropriate to show such a “moody” picture of the kitchen. This is how this kitchen makes me feel. I feel we made many gains quickly and then it stayed in this shape for 4 months. If you need a refresher, I’ll give you one. All of our cabinets and drawers were covered with blue faux fur, think Cookie Monster here, underneath the custom van complex addition, there were layers and layers of paint. This included an adorable mint green with the cutest vintage rose decals ever, too bad that couldn’t be. I think David spent 3 months just removing layers and layers of paint off of the cabinets/drawers. Oh, and Trappy’s Pepper Sauce (rehab homes are not easy may I remind you). Months later and we are still waiting for the fresh coat of white paint to dry on two doors. It then took me a couple of months to find the perfect vintage hardware (not seen in this pic). I did find the perfect hardware and that is a post soon to come. David redid the floor with eco-friendly (I couldn’t resist) and vintage fabulous marmoleum, the white tiles have been salvaged. We ordered the black. The original floor was a wreck, once again, a post in waiting. We did keep the original fixtures. I adore my faucet and my light fixtures and my shallow, long sink. I worked with my pink with gold flake counter top. I do love that as well and would get it new if I could. The walls are painted a ’57 Chevy teal or a milkier Fender Strat in Taos Turquoise, of course not seen in my moody pic.

It’s not the best picture. But, this hasn’t been a picture perfect renovation. It is going to take some time to get there with us both working full-time. I just thought I would share some of the progress we’ve made and to also complain a little about how I live. At least we have a stove and fridge. We lived off of a George Foreman and a mini fridge for many, many months. I guess I shouldn’t complain that one can see my spice collection, tea library, and bare white dishes. There used to be a dead muppet on the doors in there and a wigs worth of crazy bachelor’s hair. Oh, and I forgot the shagadelic, mod felt faces wallpaper!!!

-Victoria

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The Boudoir Is Now Pretty, Pretty Princess Pink.

Pink room, different view

OK, so I call this freakishly tiny room in the house my boudoir. I want it to house my girly stuff and all of my favorite curiosities. At one time this room was a super tiny nursery with a built-in crib. Then it became a sewing room and has a great built-in desk with crystal pulls. Then mama left and it became a dark room to start somebody’s amateur photography of local mountain ranges and soft porn.

I am so super siked about having this tiny space as my own. Everybody that comes in says that I should knock it out and make the bathroom larger. That’s a good idea if they want to start the fund to do that. Plus, that sounds like a complicated project and I am not interested in that right now, too overwhelming. I just want to make my space livable.

Anyways, I painted this boudoir a mistint pink. The color is a little more Pretty, Pretty Princess with a cotton candy cupcake on top than I had anticipated. I wanted pink in there, it does so much for my complexion 🙂 But, I didn’t account other factors such as this is a small space with 2 windows. Also, the plaster lacks texture and really makes the paint shine. I don’t fret over color. Any color will do. While painting and seeing David’s testosterone levels plummet to all time lows (lower than trips to the Deco light museum, Barney’s cosmetic counter, or trips to fabric shops), I decide to only have neutral shades in the room ranging from gray to putty to espresso. I will accent with gold metals (much like the room pictured). Pretty, Pretty Princesses don’t accessorize with those things. I really have faith in this color combo with antlers and things from the sea.

View of room from marthastewart.com

While poking around last night I found this great house featured on marthastewart.com (I don’t care what anybody says, I love her). I found the golden ticket! This is my pink shade. It’s paired with grown-up neutrals and curiosities. The trim is painted the shade that I painted the bedroom (a mistint with 2.5 gallons left). David thinks I should paint the trim and windows in there this color to make it look more grown-up but leave the doors white. I’m game but I do have a few worries. Shouldn’t trim flow throughout the house even if this space is smaller than most new houses’ closets? I’m not worried about painting over it because I am painting over black and every other color of the rainbow trim right now. That is what primer, patience, and a paint shield are for. Also, shouldn’t I go all out and paint the doors that putty shade as well to match the trim?

I’m keeping the original light fixture in there that is barren but cute. The built-in is painted to match the walls. It has crystal pulls and the doors have crystal hardware. I will use this desk most likely for applying lipstick or setting waves. I have a putty chair which I have posted on here before. I want a dark wood chair with linen and I’ll pair this with gothic mirrors and other curiosities. I’m on the prowl for a dark wood cabinent with glass doors. I found one for $400 that I want with wavy glass. This is perfect for perfumes, powders, etc. Or at least the ones that I am using at the time. Perfume should not get that much sunlight.

Light fixture in there, before, new color "prettier"

Well, off I go to hang out at the construction site all day while people come over to fix and inspect and I slap another coat of Pretty, Pretty Princess pink on the walls and think about this trim some more. I’ll be sure to share pretty, pretty pictures with you.

-Victoria

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A Change Of Bathroom Plans

The bathroom floor, excuse the messy glue. I'm working on it.

While we were waiting to close on this house, I was able to thoroughly plan every room out in detail. I had a style journal and was ready to go. This has been very helpful. We’ve been able to jump into many rooms and start working. So far the one room that has not worked out has been the main bathroom upstairs. I had planned for it to be crisp, solid white. I thought the floor tiles were white hexagons (nope). I thought I would have shiny chrome fixtures, glamorous lighting, and I would paint one of my Brocade Home style mirrors a crisp white. It was going to be white, shiny, clean, and OTT. Well, for me to get that I am going to spend much more than I had planned. After I ripped up the 70’s self-adhesive tile flooring, I did not find dainty white tiles. Instead I found a mix match of tiny squares yellowed over time by the glue. Around the floors and walls there is a super shiny black tile. These 2 things do not mix very well. After doing some 30’s research and after convincing myself the black was added much later, I found that this was very typical of a 30’s home. Many people in the neighborhood have the same black tiles. Colors in the 30’s were pretty brash and not complimentary by our standards. We have sanitary white streamline fixtures, shiny black tile, buttery yellow walls, and tiles that are mainly off-white with tiny tiles of jade, baby blue, pink, eggplant, black, and tons of others. I do not want to lose my vintage fixtures but I was hating the floors. How could I make this work for now? Well, I have to have an entirely new direction. No more monochrome white. I was going to go “traditionalist” to the house and I’m going to go Art Deco. So here’s the plan on how to make this work without doing major renovations and “keeping it real”:

-The sink has to be replaced. Don’t worry, the current one isn’t the original. I’m going to replace it with a hanging sink or as David calls them “the urinal sink”. I bought one and it was only $32. Bonus. The awful vanity lighting will be replaced by the black Rufus overhead lighting from Rejuvenation (pictured in my style idea collage). I really want sconces but that means ripping up the plaster and I just really do not feel like dealing with all of that.

-There is no mirror in this space. I would like to have an Art Deco styled mirror. I’ll find one, just give me sometime.I don’t think the one in my collage will go with the lighting but I’ll find something. I’m thinking of salvaging one from a waterfall dresser. Or maybe I can find a cute medicine cabinet at one of the salvage stores.

-The accessories will be the streamline porcelain ones from Rejuvenation as well. This ties in the black glossy tile around the floor. The house has deco hardware. Bonus. I’ll get some black hooks or chrome hooks to go in there.

– The walls will be painted a rich jade shade. I think this will do. It isn’t something I would normally choose but I really think it will bring out the jade in the floor tiles, look great with the glossy black, and look good with dark woods. It will add more of a masculine feel to the room like a cigar lounge. It will still be very deco. Think a Tamara de Lempicka painting with a gangster slap in the face.

– I want a set of waterfall end tables to put in there for storage. I’ll have my deco perfume bottles courtesy of Guerlain and Tom Ford’s lovely bottles plus cigar boxes holding things like hair pins.

– Other items will include a black or zebra print bath rug so we don’t bust our bottoms on the tile (and it will cover it up, haha). I also want a pop of red somewhere. This jade with lacquer black demands it. I’m thinking a lush vase or a house plant. I don’t know yet but something in there must be a rich red. I may incorporate that into perfume bottles. Samsara?

Some obstacles in the space include: The tub is surronded by sometype of plywood painted white. Yep. This must be removed. Should I tile around the tub? If I do what color? It’s all very overwhelming. I don’t think I am cut out for bathrooms.

-Victoria

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My Pink Dream Kitchen

We were unable to buy a fixer-upper with a lovely pink bathroom but I did get the second best thing: a pink kitchen. Yep, under all of the mess there is a lovely pink counter top that really looks like the one in the vintage pic above. At one time you could tell (under the royal blue faux fur) that the cabinets were a lovely mint green shade, courtesy of paint stripper. When I saw they counter tops under the sky high mess on the “first impression” day, I knew I wanted to keep them. I knew that I wanted to rip off the fur, paint the walls a shade of 57 Chevy mint, and do the floors in a black and white marmoleum checkered board pattern. Our plan all along has been to work with the house and its age, not against it. There was no reason to get rid of those lovely, glittery pink counters. (I’d salvage the wallpaper if I could, but it is very filthy). Here’s my kitchen plan (other than the obvious make it work stuff such as appliances, fix the plumbing, cleaning!):

–Keep the counters and sink. Surprisingly they are good shape. Remember this was a guy’s home for many years. When I opened the mini fridges stacked on one another, one was filled with Natural Light Beer, the other with Ensure. The sink is a nice shape. It is shallow and wide. It isn’t very practical but it looks cool. I hope that we can clean it up and have it looking nice. I’ll have to consult the plumber about all of this stuff. There appears to be some corrosion around the sink drain, no longer shiny.

–Peel wallpaper & Paint. I want to paint the walls a ’57 Chevy mint green. Guess what? I found the perfect shade, a semi-gloss too, as a mistint for $25 for 5 gallons. The rest will be used for fun projects such as refinishing chairs, haha. I also want to paint the awesome trim a crisp white. I am considering painting the cabinets a white with a dash of pink. Or flat out pink. I feel this will make the trim pop and it will be cute. And this means that I am de-fuzzing the cabinets. I know, I’m in bad taste…It’s a shame really that the Austin Powers wallpaper has to go but it is felt paper and it is grotty. We will salvage and frame some. It’s just too cool.

–Re-tile the floors. Currently the floor is a pretty awesome composite floor/linoleum. However, it was pink with mint and gray but it is faded. It is also curling at the seams. I read in an old home maintenance book that you can iron this. But, I’m pretty sure this stuff contains asbestos. And we’d have to try hard to make it look good. So I am going to do black/white linoleum tile. It’s eco friendly and durable. And pretty darn cheap.

–New hardware. Well, maybe not new. At least vintage, very 50’s streamlined and simple for the cabinets. I’m as you can tell, making this a 50’s inspired kitchen. I might as well play the cards given to me. Or I may spray paint the current ones with a high gloss white spray paint. This is at least a savings of $80. And I think it will look cute. I want my money to go to interesting lighting.

Those are the main things. I’ve ordered very simple appliances because I am a simple gal. Not party platter tray holders in my fridge. I have chose white because I think it will look the crispest with the color scheme. I would love retro repro appliances but they are very expensive. My compromise: if I am there 5 years and I still want retro appliances then I will purchase them then. Oh, and can you imagine how cute pink Kitchenaid stuff would be in there? I can.

I also plan on using all the cute 40-50’s linens that I have collected over the years. Maybe I will use these as curtains or something?

Yesterday, David de-fuzzed the cabinets and the fur came off easily. However, there are 3 coats of paint and glue on the fronts and he is using a gel paint stripper to clean them up. Many of the fronts are down to their oak but I plan on painting them. We also found a really cute galvanized flour drawer. The goal is to get the kitchen finished before September!

-Victoria

The kitchen with most of the blue fur up, haha.

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Hooked On Hooks

Anthropologie antler hook

I am not a fan of hooks because they expose your stuff. I feel jackets, hats, etc. should go in a closet, not to be seen or heard. On the other hand, David is hooked on hooks. I guess it is better to see a hoodie hanging from a hook than piled on the floor (the other option).  When you live in an old house, you no longer take closet space for granted. You learn that your storage options are limited. Things don’t “hide”, you make closets. You make do and this means we use hooks. David wants hooks in the new place even though it has much more storage space. Actually the closets aren’t too bad for a house from the mid-30’s. I’ve been searching for “acceptable” hooks. Anthropologie will occasionally get something that I really adore. Such as the silvertone antler hook, that is on sale for $15. I also like antlers, actual antlers and even this silvertone one at Lekker is creepy and I like it. But, they are really costly at $120. I’d rather try to find real antlers to convert into hooks for coats, etc.

Antler hooks.

I also imagine that any old hardware/knobs used as hooks would look nice. Stuff that I could find at bargain stores or even on sale at Anthropologie.  We have plaster walls and I’d rather drill these into strips of wood and then attach them to the plaster. I could use lots of things such as crystal doorknobs, faucet knobs, bent spoons, anything I want. Even beach pebbles. I would make my own like the one you would find at Viva Terra ($49) because I enjoy choosing rocks and I know mine could be cheaper.

Beach pebble hooks.

This would be the most eclectic hook option and most likely the cheapest, but this would take the most time. I have to collect and search for those things and then actually execute this little project.

Another option is to use plain hooks. That’s what we have now and it gets the job done. You can find these anywhere from Target to The Container Store. They contain lots of hooks and usually retail for under $30 depending on the size.

Plain ole hooks

Luckily, I noticed that many of the doors, behind their faux fur, have perfect metal deco hooks attached. They are lovely and the originals. They’ve been painted over but I imagine we can get that off with a batch of lovely chemicals. They are beautiful and match the knobs throughout the home. I couldn’t find any that I could love more. In fact, I am sure to search the local antique stores and salvage stores for more and may inquire about repro ones. We are lucky enough to have Vintage Hardware and Lighting in Port Townsend. Now they have some dramatic hooks. And don’t get me started on their lighting.I’d rather use cheap-o hooks and splurge on lighting. I’m not hooked on hooks.

-Victoria

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