I have been restoring vintage lights since I was a teenager in the mid-1970s. An Interstate highway was being rammed through the city where I lived, and I ran (steps ahead of the bulldozers, and with my shag haircut flying) from one incredible building to another, and from one incredible house to another, and salvaged everything I could.
My poor, bewildered parents. Their garage was soon chock-a-block with what I thought were treasures beyond compare. But which they thought was just useless flotsam. I did though once overhear my mom say: “Well, at least he’s not out doing drugs.”
However, when all their boring lights were systematically replaced with the most stunning lights they had ever seen – and all for free, rewired, and restored – they soon had second thoughts about the flotsam. (I paid for new parts by mowing lawns!)
Fast forward many decades.
One day I realized I had a pile of old lights rusting away in my basement. I hauled a few out, restored them (bringing back many old memories), and listed them on eBay.
At the time I had no idea, not a clue, that I had just radically changed my life.
Within months my life was unrecognizable, and I was working full time restoring vintage lighting and selling the fixtures across America.
My new e-commerce website is now online. Whoee! Please feel free to shop and purchase here:
My blog post are below.
Oh. Oh! OH! AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
Yesterday, after a long time being dormant, the radiator system in the 1894 Cross House was, after much ado, reactivated. As my post yesterday detailed, some highly distressing and unexpected results occurred. Oopsy-daisy. Well, you can imagine my great excitement, and fear, at arriving at the house today. Would all be well? Or would I…
Continue ReadingOh. Oh! OH! Oh….FUCK!!!!!!!!
Today was the best of days. Today was the worst of days. For, today was the day I have waited years for: getting the radiator system online. At first, it seemed a fortuitous day, being literally 0 degrees. So having more heat was something I would vastly appreciate. Over the last 123-years, the radiator…
Continue ReadingMaking America…A Shithole
This is a political post. If you hate politics, do not scroll down. If you do scroll down….caveat emptor. But now, he is being ripped from his family and deported back to…
Continue ReadingYou Are Gonna LOVE This!
Today, Mary wrote me about a video on the house! And you will REALLY want to view the video! Thanks, Mary!!!!!!!!
Continue ReadingThe Screen Doors. PART II.
The doors are in poor condition. Besides the condition of the hinges, there are missing sections of wood, and the outer veneer (oak?) has delaminated, well, a lot overall. The doors need to go to Dr. Doug for renewal. STAT!
Continue ReadingKenny. Before & After.
I greatly enjoyed getting to know Kenny and took him to lunch yesterday and today. I love a good conversation. Also, he has a nice attention to detail that I admire, which makes him ideal for such work. Kenny said he has a few days in February. He asked:…
Continue ReadingPrepare to be…GOBSMACKED!
The west screen doors were extant in 1999 when Bob Rodak purchased the house. They were no longer in situ when I purchased the house in 2014. What happened? Where had they gone? Bob assured me that he had them. But repeated searches, and I mean repeated, did not reveal anything. Recently, Bob told…
Continue ReadingA Kenny Resurrection
Last month, Kenny, a reader of this blog, contacted me. He had a question. “I have two days available in January, and would love to volunteer to help with something at the Cross House. Do you have a small project for me?” Why yes. I did have something which, just the previous day, I had…
Continue ReadingRadiators in 3, 2, 1…
I am breathless with excitement. I am giddy with excitement. I am LIVING for Tuesday. And why? Because the radiator system at the Cross House will, hopefully, BE BACK ONLINE!!!!!!!! When I purchased the house four years ago the system was working. Sorta. It did not actually heat the house to anywhere near a…
Continue ReadingA Most Unexpected Visitor?
One of my favorite movies is The Uninvited, from 1944. This is a elegant story about elegant people living in an elegant house…and ghosts. An aspect of the story is that one ghost is never seen but is rather, ah, smelled. “The mimosa! It’s overpowering!” And what, you understandably will be asking, does this have…
Continue ReadingGreen Beauties!
My online vintage lighting store. My online vintage lighting store.
Continue ReadingA MUFFLED BEAUTY: 16 Clinton Ave, Fort Plain, NY
On the fabulous Old House Dreams, commentator Holly linked to a house in upstate New York. The house is a muffled beauty. An exceptional beauty. Yet 99.9% of buyers will not see the beauty. They will only see the work required to restore the house. Or the work to — shudder — update the house. With…
Continue ReadingThe Grand Stair. Golly.
A week ago, reconstructing the staircase seemed overwhelming. This is why I ignored it for four years. But, after playing with it for several days, its mysteries have been revealed and I understand how it was put together, and…
Continue ReadingGas/Electric Swivel Sconces! At Last!
I need many many many pairs of gas/electric sconces for the Cross House. And such sconces are hard to find. But they also need to swivel. And such a feature is incredibly hard to find. Indeed, the pair Cody found was the first I had ever seen. The swivel feature is vital because of…
Continue ReadingA Born-Again Staircase
Well, today was QUITE the thrill! I am confident that during the next few months I can have the missing spindles recreated, new handrail milled, and other bits. So, perhaps by spring the fabulous grand stair will look, in 2018,…
Continue ReadingA Self-Reconstructing Pantry
Bob thinks he has the north counter, too. Somewhere. There are still missing sections of vertical bits. I have some of these, and Dr. Doug can make up the other lost bits. I will soon be having all the various bits of the pantry analyzed to ascertain all the original finishes….
Continue ReadingKarma In Action
My online vintage lighting store. A few years ago I was scrolling through hundreds of vintage lights for sale on eBay. One listing caught my eye, and I clicked on it. WHAT was I looking at? The fixture was totally dismantled. The seller had no idea if all the parts were there. I stared at…
Continue ReadingA Terrifying Post. TERRIFYING!
Two years ago I did a post on the parlor. The room looked ready to paint but, up close, well, horrors were revealed. Horrors!
Continue ReadingBefore. After.
My online vintage lighting store. The pendants are ideal for a home built in the late 1890s or through to, say, 1910. I only but gently polished the brass so as to protect the luscious patina. My online vintage lighting store.
Continue Reading