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.
Before. After.
My online vintage lighting store.
Continue ReadingA Surprise!
The big white square is where a murphy bed cabinet was installed in 1929. This was later turned into a closet. The cabinet is now dismantled and stored away. I plan to reinstall it. But…look at the vertical rectangle to the left. This is what I never noticed before. And all of a sudden…
Continue ReadingBefore. After.
My online vintage lighting store.
Continue ReadingOld House Ceiling Fans
In the 1894 Cross House I am planning to install ceiling fans. The idea is to install a chandelier in the center of most rooms, with a pair of ceiling fans to each side. The rooms are large enough to do this. One concern is that the house would not have had ceiling fans when…
Continue ReadingA Dramatic Early Electric!
My online vintage lighting store.
Continue ReadingHAPPY HOLIDAYS 2016!!!!!!!!
The first such tree was a straight line along its base. Then I realized that you could only see it head on. Coming from the south or east? The tree disappeared! The second incarnation had a V-shaped base and this hugely helped although the V was a bit pinched. The third incarnation…
Continue ReadingMy Love/Hate Relationship with ATOMIC RANCH
I was SO excited when I first saw Atomic Ranch magazine on a newsstand in 2004. A whole magazine about Mid-Century Modern houses? Ross happy! Instantly, I subscribed and now have every issue. But…but…this is the only magazine subscription I have where I don’t look through it the day it arrives or the day after….
Continue ReadingMaking the News!
The large image shows the house from a few months ago. The smaller image is from 1999 and was taken by Bob Rodak, who sold the house to me. When Bob, and his late wife, Debbi, purchased the house it was boarded up and in terrifying condition, and I have always felt that Bob…
Continue ReadingDamn. Damn, damn, damn. DAMN!
For my whole life I have watched incredible buildings be demolished. And I am now old enough to frequently hear, decades after some magnificent treasure was smashed to the ground: “Gee? Why did we knock it down? Looking back, it was actually an incredible building. We should have saved it.” Yes, should have. The wonderful…
Continue ReadingBurning in Preservation Hell
Young couple tells their realtor: “We want a cool old house UNTOUCHED by time! We want it to be ALL ORIGINAL! We love old houses and want to respect history!” Young couple buys amazingly intact old house. And then proceeds to tear out the original kitchen and bathrooms. They then gut the house to the…
Continue ReadingWanna Meet Duplexalites?
Last week I was quite excited to find SIX Duplexalite pendants. Six! I have never before found more than two. But what, you may ask, is a Duplexalite? The Miller Company created a fixture they dubbed Duplexalite. I sell a number of these wonderful fixtures each year (see link below). There is a wide variety…
Continue ReadingBefore. After.
My online vintage lighting store.
Continue ReadingAn Improvement. Please Don’t Laugh.
Looks better, right? Right? Right???????? Sigh. I know, it’s kinda laughable that I can take some pleasure in this micro improvement while all around is cracked plaster, missing plaster, a missing ceiling, unrestored trim, and a drop cloth covering the windows. But…a selective eye is a Godsend when one is restoring an old…
Continue ReadingWanna Meet My Arches?
Recently, Bo asked about the arches in the Cross House. There are three. And they not quite as they appear. All the arches are in the expansive entry/stairhall. The arches (and columns) are diminished by heavy alligatoring. This will be removed. And at some point I will bring in…
Continue ReadingBefore. After.
My online vintage lighting store.
Continue Reading