Making the Most of Your Home: Sources for Superior Stuff

Here are a few paragraphs to get you thinking. The links are below. If you just want to scroll down to our "Bonanza Links to Unusual Stuff that you won't find in just any old home," please scroll down. For those of you who wish to read, we appreciate your indulgence!

Take a look at the materials used in today's average home. Consider the house, the hardscaping, the accessories, wallhangings...everything.

The most common material might be wood, but what is the most visible? Look at the siding...look at the flooring...the windowsills...look at the light fixtures. The mailbox, the screen door, the molding, the appliances. What is the most prevalent material that you see?

If you said "plastics," give yourself a gold star. And if you think your house doesn't present a continuous view of plastics, look again. The vinyl siding is certainly plastic. How about your window casements? Your front door is likely fiberglass (that's molded plastic with glass fiber content) and your interior doors may be fiberglass as well. Your linoleum flooring, your carpeting, your formica countertop...all plastic. Now look at all the stuff you put in your house. Your TV set has a plastic housing, as does your VCR, DVD player, microwave, right down to the computer you're staring at.

Now let's not write off plastics...they are indispensible materials that stand up to the elements and weigh a fraction of natural materials. As DuPont used to say, "better living through chemistry." But are they always the right material for your home?

Now that you understand that you live in a plastic world, make an effort to tour a period home dating to at least the 1920s. If you live in California, seek out a Greene & Greene. Midwest? Find a Frank Lloyd Wright home. East coast? Gustav Stickley's house in New Jersey. Southwest? Tour a mission, or a trading post, or perhaps Taliesin West in Scottsdale. South? An Antebellum home, or any of the zillions of classic house tours in your particular city. The Mark Twain House in Hartford CT is another. (You get the idea.)

As you tour whatever vintage home you happen to choose, you will notice that it has a certain richness about it. You may not like certain colors, or styles, or other aspects...and it may not be built as well as even the simplest of today's homes...but it certainly is different. It feels like life was slower, and somehow richer. And although it is old, you feel you could sure live comfortably in it. Many of these old homes may have belonged to very common people at the time, yet the house somehow seems like it has a timeless beauty despite its humble origins.

The key difference is that you are looking at natural materials, which do indeed have a timeless beauty. You may spot an old radio with a Bakelite housing, but you won't see any plastic molding, vinyl siding, nylon curtains, or even cast aluminum light fixtures.

What you will see are superior grades of wood; perhaps quartersawn woods, curly woods, and even some classics like walnut or elm. You'll see slag glass, rough glass, hammered copper, cast iron. Natural stone, real clay fired bricks (most brick today is tinted concrete). All of these materials are subtle, yet unquestionably present an image of comfort and richness that the average home of today simply lacks. And some call it progress!

What's Old is New...

Can your 1970 era bi-level be "updated" by replacing state-of-the-art plastics with time-honored wood and glass? The answer is yes...if you know where to find the materials. Although you should be warned that most home improvement contractors will think you're a crank caller if you ask them to replace your vinyl siding with cedar shakes! Start slowly, read, study, research -- do what you can, and only do what you can afford. Your aluminum entry door will do just fine, for example, for many years to come. But if a situation arises in which it does need to be replaced, look for a true wood door. It will cost more, but will provide a richness and understated elegance that will more than make up the difference in price. In this way you can slowly but surely transform your home from a disposable plastic domain to a haven of natural beauty.

If you are in the process of searching for a contractor for a particular project, please know that you can use ReliableRemodeler.com's Find a Contractor service to obtain a quote from a local contractor in your area. We recommend this service because quotes are often done by contractors who may not be as busy as more established contractors -- thus they have more aggressive pricing and you won't wait as long for them to get around to your small project. And you can rely on their quality, because all contractors are pre-screened by ReliableRemodeler. (It's worth a click).

Sources for Natural and Unusual Materials

First and foremost, if you are doing virtually any type of work in your home, Rockler is one of those companies you've got to know about. From unusual cabinet hardware to drawer dividers to undercabinet lighting to replacement hinges to adjustable fireplace mantels, to replacement table legs, this company is a terrific source for quality items that can give your home a facelift in relatively short order. Although they are known as a "woodworker's" supply house, they have plenty of items for those of us who are, uh, "mechanically-challenged." The Catalog is free, and it's a must have. It's followed by a number of specialty links below, so be sure to scroll through this entire page after you fill in the little electronic form below.

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Architectural Salvage

• Nationwide: Architecturals.net here's the biggest and best online marketplace of architectural salvage, antiques, gewgaws and everything else you can imagine. Buy, sell, trade, or just research; whether you're a dealer, landscaper, homeowner, contractor, it's a wide-open arena...I guess you could call it "the ebay of architectural salvage." This should be your go-to site if you are shopping or selling.
• Nationwide: SalvageWeb.com this is a general clearing house for architectural salvage A - Z
• FL: Sarasota Salvage windows, doors, wrought iron, garden items, you name it.
• NJ: Recycling the Past dealer specializing in doors, stained glass windows.

Glass Materials

• StainedGlassWarehouse.com source for raw materials; stained and cut glass for lamps, windows, decorating treatments.
• Mica sheet for lamps, decorating treatments.
• 1st-GlassBlock.com Chicago area supplier of glass block of all types. Ships nationwide.

Accessories - From Doormats to Lighting

• Address Plaques here's where you can get those hand-cast address markers that put the finishing touch on a property, from Yardiac.com.
• Period Lighting & Hardware This is a Portland OR. company called Rejuvenation Hardware. Specializes in reproduction Victorian, Colonial, Craftsman, etc. styles. Excellent stuff; prices are quite reasonable. Emphasis on metalware.
• Unusual Switchplates This is a design group in Texas called AestheticManeuvers.com. The site requires Flash, and can be a bit odd to navigate, but if you are looking to add WOW with switchplates nobody else has, this is it. DO NOT settle for humdrum switchplates or those hideous things with laminated designs. You have got to see these to believe them...nothing else even comes close.
Nice people, outstanding service; I'm glad I stumbled on them.
• 500,000 Lights & Home Furnishings this is from Bellacor.com, which is a good online source because they supply better grade products at a decent price...much better materials than the usual import junk most online discounters sell.

Stone

• BrickMarkers.com Source for engraved bricks and tiles.

Stairs & Railings

• Royal Oak Railing & Stair Co Ontario Canada vendor ships to U.S. Offers a variety of woods and styles; may be just the ticket depending on the exchange rate.
• Salter Spiral Stair Co Source for spiral staircases constructed of wood. Located in Pennsylvania.
• Southern Staircase source for traditional staircase materials in a variety of styles, from informal to Victorian. Located in Alpharetta, GA.
• Westfire Mfg Oregon based stair parts manufacturer. Excellent source for unusual newel posts.

Molding

• Vintage Woodworks Quinlan, TX source for unusual wood moldings, wood treatments, architectural specialties. Also stair parts, unusual screen doors, fireplace mantels, you name it. Ships nationwide.

Wood

• WestPennHardwoods.com New York state lumber yard specializing in quartersawn and highly figured hardwoods. Excellent selection; ships nationwide.
• MountainLumber.com suppliers of flooring and paneling made of reclaimed lumber. Excellent source for cypress, granary oak, Chinese elm...all sorts of unusual reclaimed woods from around the world, most of it from historic buildings/locations.

Stuff For Around the House

• Hanging Frames in the style of Stickley or Greene & Greene You know those leather straps used to hang frames from picture frame rail in a mission or arts & crafts style house? Here's how you do it.