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Olde Good Things

Architectural and Altered Antiques

A Home Renovation with Chicken Wire Glass & Art Deco Sink

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Inspired to do some home renovations to update your decor, or maybe just to change things up and add new flavor to familiar spaces?

Our customers at Olde Good Things have put our reclaimed architectural salvage pieces to exceptional use as part of their home renovation projects. Some of our favorites include interior windows made from our chicken wire glass and fixtures rescued from the NYC Building.

Take a look at how this customer added texture and rustic industrial flair to an interior wall with a chicken wire glass window.

 

Notice how the installation of the window lightens and brightens the space while opening it up. Chicken wire glass windows are durable as well as stylish. Designed to enforce glass structures in the last century, it is both functional and beautiful. OGT chicken wire glass is available in varying transparencies and textures — clear, pebbled, hammered, ribbed, wormy, and diamond — and is sold ¼” thick in pre-cut sizes which can be cut to specification.

The customer also indulged in an Art Deco American Standard console sink, part of OGT’s salvage project from NYC. This Meyer-Sniffen Co. fixture gives a vintage feel to the customer’s streamlined vintage-industrial look in the home. This particular piece features brass hardware and lucite legs.

Contact us at OGT for more ideas on your home renovation with classic salvaged architectural treasures.

6 Ways to Use Vintage Glass

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There is just something about it. That unusual-looking glass that caught your eye. Maybe you noticed it in the shopping district of a high-end neighborhood, or perhaps it stood out in your own friendly neighborhood watering hole. Vintage reclaimed glass comes in all shapes, shades, and textures. Not only is it irresistible aesthetically, but salvaged glass has also proven extremely durable for both indoor and outdoor uses. You love the way it adds charm and character. 

“But what will I do with it?” you say. Here are a few ways you can rehome antique and vintage reclaimed glass, or you can brainstorm something completely innovative and ingenious while browsing the selection at Olde Good Things.

1. Skylights and Architectural Borders

The Arlington Club in Upper East Side, Manhattan, used Olde Good Things pebbled chicken wire glass for this skylight overlooking the atrium. The client also used touches of antique glass on the soffit above the bar. The soaring glass skylight allows just a breath of light to pass through, giving the atrium an expansive and distinguished feel.

 

2.  Privacy Walls and Enclosed Partitions

 

Everybody needs a little privacy sometimes. Whether you share a residence or a business space, a reclaimed glass privacy wall will set aside your area for a multitude of purposes. With a vintage glass partition, you can delegate a small private area or an entire office. A reclaimed glass room divider can be used to tastefully separate a small office area, meeting room, dressing area, or to organize space and create flow in retail stores, entertainment venues, and dining spots. Our reclaimed glass also makes a startlingly unique inlay on doors, such as the shower doors made from pebbled chicken wire glass in this New York City loft.

 

3. Antiqued Mirrors

Antiqued silvered glass mirrors make a statement whether they are featured as a bar backdrop or in a custom frame. Olde Good Things offers beautifully done mirrors customized to the needs of the client, like this Boulton and Watt Restaurant bar backdrop in East Village, New York City. Our clients have used OGT glass mirrors in restaurants, bars, retail, or simply framed in one of our beautiful custom mirror frames for home decor. Our vintage glass mirrors are composed of reclaimed glass salvaged from some of the most famous and historic buildings, and each piece has its own story to tell.

 

4. Exterior and Interior Window Features

Paned windows give you a great view out onto the world. The glass panes that grace your restaurant, retail space, or business is what customers will look through and notice, and you want your windows to make an impression. This restaurant storefront on the Lower East Side demands attention with OGT pebbled chicken wire glass. Olde Good Things has a huge selection of vintage chicken wire glass, whether you want yours corrugated, pebbled, ribbed, wormy, hammered, textured, colored, or clear.

 

5. Canopies and Awnings

Glass awnings and canopies are trending in stylish office, retail, and entertainment environments. Awnings and canopies provide shade and modernistic angles, and they are used in both interior and exterior design themes, like this cutting-edge canopy at Diane von Furstenburg’s apparel showroom in the Meatpacking District, New York City. New cut glass can be pricey, and many Olde Good Things clients choose to go with our sturdy and resilient salvaged architectural glass from historic buildings, factories, and industrial sites.

6. Wall Sconces

Vintage reclaimed glass is a statement piece when repurposed into wall sconces. Beertown Restaurants used our warm amber corrugated chicken wire glass in the wall sconces of the dining areas to highlight the beautiful raw materials featured in the design. The light shining through this glass gives the restaurant a charming, subtle ambience and brings out the other uses of vintage glass in the overall atmosphere.

Reclaimed vintage glass from the Olde Good Things extensive and unique collection lends a distinguished look and subtle ambience to any space. Each item is a discussion piece, salvaged from historic architecture. The quality and resilience of reclaimed glass are unsurpassed. We love to help our clients with ideas, selection, customization, and execution. Contact us or come in today to discuss your ideas and share how you want to use vintage glass.

Click here to visit OldeGoodGlass.com

Customer Showcase: Reclaimed Corrugated Glass Skylight & Awning

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Architectural glass canopies and awnings have become a popular feature in high end residential and commercial design. Glass awnings lend a sleek, cutting-edge element to both interiors and exteriors. Custom glass canopies or awnings can be costly when new, so antique reclaimed glass offers a number of advantages, as our clients found when they contacted us to source the glass for two stunning architectural projects in Philadelphia and New York City.

Reclaimed glass is an excellent choice for use in a skylight, awning or canopy. Salvaged glass is a green alternative to newly manufactured glass. When repurposed into fresh environments, reclaimed architectural glass isn’t wasting away in a landfill; it is reborn as a distinguished component of contemporary living. A big plus for buying salvaged materials is the cost savings, as well.

Corrugated Glass Skylight

One example of Olde Good Things corrugated glass repurposing is the New England Skylights architectural project in Philadelphia, using OGT-sourced corrugated wire-enforced glass. The 100-year-old glass was sourced from a historic site, cleaned, restored, and cut to fit the skylight. It was designed with a copper and steel frame into a gable-end style skylight. The client worked closely with the project architect and tradesman to achieve this classic look for a national retail customer. View this Architectural Project.

Corrugated Glass Canopy

In New York City’s Meatpacking District, Diane von Furstenburg’s fashion showroom incorporated Olde Good Things salvaged corrugated glass in an inventive exterior awning that runs the length of both sides of the corner retail space. The awning is contemporary, edgy, and functional. OGT wired glass was mounted on steel beams above the walkway in a stunning display of how repurposed glass can evolve with the urban landscape.

A corrugated glass awning mounted to the structural steel beams runs the two open sides of Diane von Furstenburg’s fashion showroom headquarters in NYC’s Meatpacking District.

Clients have found design success by repurposing Olde Good Things corrugated glass in interiors and exteriors. OGT wire-reinforced glass is both resilient and charming and gives any project a unique look that is a slice of history. Repurposed glass, as our clients discovered, is a design concept that remains both functional and beautiful. These two eye-catching projects are just a sample of the uses OGT corrugated architectural glass has served, and one can find our salvaged architectural glass in corporate spaces, restaurants, retail, and private residences.

Specifications of Corrugated Glass

Olde Good Things is a top source for your antique corrugated glass, with hundreds of pieces of clear and amber glass salvaged from historic buildings. Once a staple of utilitarian usage in factory buildings and industrial facilities, OGT reclaimed glass brings the mark of historic significance to traditional, industrial, retro, and contemporary exteriors and interiors.

Olde Good Things clear corrugated chicken wire glass is ⅜” thick, standard width 27 ¾”, available in sheets up to 84”. It can be cut to size and drilled. Contact us today for advice on your repurposed glass project, or let us know how we can customize your reclaimed architectural glass to suit your design tastes and lifestyle. 

Learn more about Reclaimed Corrugated Glass

What is Corrugated Glass?

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Corrugated glass is one type of industrial and commercial glass that was once used almost exclusively in factories. Because of its strength, and ability to diffuse light and shadow to help increase privacy and security, it was in high demand during the early industrial revolution.

Corrugation is a form of folding that can add strength and stability to cardboard boxes, flexibility, and drainage to metal awnings and roofs, and light refraction and diminished visibility to glass. Corrugated boxes, metal, and glass can bear heavier loads, and corrugated glass is thicker and more shatter-resistant than a regular flat glass of the same height and length.

Olde Good Glass’ corrugated chicken wire glass sheets are 7/16 in thickness and are available in a standard width of 27 ¾ inches.

 

How is it made?

1926, a United States patent was awarded to Walter Cox and Arno Shuman of the Philadelphia Wire Glass Company for the process that makes corrugated glass. The process of making corrugated glass is as follows:

Place a crimped sheet of wire netting on a lengthwise corrugated table. Corrugate the sheet of wire by passing over it a corrugated roll. Embed the sheet of wire in the center of a corrugated sheet of glass by rolling the sheet of corrugated glass along with the table, holding the netting, with the roller.

Fortunately, there is also some information contained within the patent that gives us some details about what makes corrugated glass so special.

According to US Patent US1156214 A, “Evidently the sheet is possessed of great mechanical strength. The distance from center to center of the corrugations is considerable and may be measured by saying that it is at least three times the thickness of the glass.” The patent also states that because a sheet of chicken wire mesh is pressed between each sheet of glass, the glass is thick but flexible which makes it ideal for use in industrial settings.

 

Types of Corrugated Glass

 

Clear Corrugated Chicken Wire Glass

At 3/8 inch in thickness, our clear corrugated chicken wire glass has been reclaimed from industrial buildings and factories and is thick enough to be drilled. More on clear corrugated chicken wire glass here.

Amber Corrugated Chicken Wire Glass

Reclaimed from factories and industrial buildings, our amber corrugated chicken wire glass is available in sheets up of 27 ¾ inches wide and 84 inches thick. More on vintage amber corrugated chicken wire glass here.

 

Customer Showcases

This glass is one-of-a-kind and because it was only made during the height of America’s industrial period, the original, high-quality corrugated glass is no longer in production. That means that every piece of corrugated glass made is a rare, high demand home décor item that can only be purchased from salvage experts who have the experience to safely and carefully remove the glass, the room to store the glass, and the skill and creativity to repurpose the glass into new glass panes, decorative pieces, tables, partitions, awnings, or anything else they can think of. One such salvage company is Olde Good Things.

 

Read more about corrugated glass at OldeGoodGlass.com

From Factory to Pantry

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In 2014, Olde Good Things salvaged panes of industrial aqua pebbled chicken wire glass from the Hamilton Manufacturing Co. building in Two Rivers, Wisconsin.

Our inventive customers at White Magdelena House, a home furnishings store and interior design studio in Hingham, Massachusetts, recently sent us photos of how they incorporated this uniquely colored glass into one of their design projects.

The industrial windows now serve as a barn-style sliding door for a pantry, beautifully demonstrating how our Olde Good Glass can be used to create privacy and partition spaces. Our compliments to the designers and installers!

We are currently sold out of aqua glass, but we do have plenty of other chicken wire glass, as well as other types of vintage reclaimed glass, in stock. Our glass shop also offers additional treatments like mirroring and frosting. Contact us to talk about your next project!

Olde Good Things, New York Stores

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Brick & Mortar Stores

Olde Good Things had its mere beginnings in NYC during the heyday of the Chelsea Antique Market in the early 90’s and then opened its first retail store on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn in 1995. Today, 24 years later, you can visit our four brick and mortar retail locations, including one “pop-up” store at 71 Eighth Avenue between West 13th and 14th Street. Visit each one location and see if we don’t live up to our “humble boast” of being “the most interesting stores in New York City!” Our largest New York Store located conveniently near Union Square. This store features the largest assortment of original hardware. Our Upper West Side, Broadway location has the best assortment of marble mantels and large chandeliers and our Lower East Side, Bowery location has a wide assortment of smaller practical original lighting.  Our pop-up store, 8th Ave has an interesting variety of decorative items and furniture. Come see us at each location to get the full Olde Good Things experience!

Salvaged Treasures

Each store has a personality of its own, with a variety of original lighting, architectural elements including mantels, doors, glass, hardware as well as our unique line of altered antique furnishings including mirrors, tables and shelving. You will also find vintage, industrial and mid-century original furniture and decorative furnishings. Presently featured in each store is a wide assortment of items reclaimed from the famous Waldorf Astoria Hotel, which is now undergoing a major renovation. You will find from this New York City landmark, original marble and wooden mantels from for instance, the “Cole Porter Suite.” You will also find doors from the “Marilyn Monroe Suite” and lighting from almost every suite and hallway as well as conference and ballroom lighting including chandeliers from the Starlight Room. Kitchen and service items available including flatware, silver plated serving bowls and platters, many with the Waldorf signature. Special feature is the bar reclaimed from the famous Bull & Bear restaurant, if interested ask here. Too many interesting things to list!

Reclaimed Vintage Wired Glass

Olde Good Things also specializes in vintage wire glass reclaimed from windows and skylights of industrial buildings and skyscrapers. You will find samples of this glass at each of the stores. Special feature at this time is huge sheets (4 ft x 7 ft) of clear chicken wire glass from Rockefeller Center. Ask about our special service of frosting this glass as well. Visit www.oldegoodglass.com for more information.

More Ways to Shop

Olde Good Things has been reclaiming architectural items for a quarter of a century. If you need doors, plumbing, stained glass, a special doorknob or plate, you could very well find exactly what you are looking for in one of these stores. But if not, don’t be dismayed, we have two vast warehouses in Scranton, Pennsylvania chock full of every architectural item imaginable as well as an extensive website with over 16,000 items at www.oldegoodthings.com. Your salesperson at the retail store, can help you find what you are looking for and possibly even arrange to bring it in on our truck that goes back and forth at least once a week.

NYC Show Truck

Have you ever seen the most interesting truck in New York? Follow the lion to one of our stores today.

Hope to see you soon!

Decor that Shimmers: Decorating with Vintage Reclaimed Glass

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Those who look into the soul of any vintage item will see beyond its form and function and into the life it should have going forward. Vintage glass allows the viewer to look through into other worlds and imagine things that used to be on the other side of the pane. Next time you need something to decorate the interior or exterior space of your house, turn to Olde Good Things for your classic touches of style and history. A hint of the past is always a great way to move into the future. The past represents a groundedness that is not found in modern mass-produced-in-China items that overflow the shelves of décor stores. Impersonal, cold, and often too cheap to be worth passing along to the next generation, these items succumb to the decay of time.

We have the largest selection of vintage chicken wire glass, including corrugated, pebbled, hammered, ribbed, wormy, and clear. We also have many types of obsolete textured glass, antique pattern glass, and wavy window glass. We have developed a unique process of creating the most authentic looking antique distressed mirror on the market. We have a full service shop ready to process your order of vintage glass and mirror.

We have five types of glass available to purchase:

1.  Chicken wire glass

2.  Corrugated glass

3.  Antiqued silvered mirror

4. Exclusive glass and windows

5. Large sheets of stained glass

 

Featured Reclaimed Glass

Rare Large Sheet of Clear Chicken Wire Glass – Limited quantity, pieces this large are rare. Each sheet is 28 square feet. Measuring 81.75 in. H x 49 in. W x 0.25 in. D.

View our customer showcases on our vintage glass website, www.oldegoodglass.com. Request a free sample here.

Using Salvaged Materials for a Fixer Upper Home Purchase

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Few would deny that unique style is a bonus for prospective buyers of renovated homes. While quality and function are important, it can be the unexpected touches that trigger a positive response and prompt an offer.

Investors who purchase property with the goal of renovating and reselling for profit sometimes overlook the potential to add character with reclaimed materials and architectural salvage, instead choosing more expensive options that can sometimes be hard on the budget.

Recognize Possibilities  

While most buyers appreciate the style and reliability of modern heating and cooling systems, new appliances and  energy-efficient lighting, there is a certain charm associated with vintage bath fixtures, period chandeliers and wall sconces, and reclaimed beams, flooring, doors, millwork and hardware.

When the quality of workmanship is evident, there is no reason why design items from the past cannot be fully integrated into modern interiors. Even exteriors can be enhanced with older architectural features. The truth is that salvaged materials and vintage home decor can constitute a bargain when used to update a “tired” property. They also add much-needed character to transform a bargain fix-and-flip project from mundane to extraordinary.

Rather than squandering potential profit on high-ticket items, why not exercise a bit of ingenuity to incorporate a stately vintage aesthetic into a modern property, whether that’s through DIY projects or hiring a professional craftsman? Whether your finished design theme is rustic farmhouse, industrial, Euro-tech, distinctively contemporary or vintage elegance, the unique appeal of repurposed elements can add spirit and new life to a renovation.

Be Inventive

The matching look — in home design as in furniture and clothing — is now passe, and color today depends less on popular trends than on personalization and individuality.

Designers and architects, as well as savvy investors and builders, realize the benefits of cost-effective options. Budgeting for a renovation requires keeping a tight lid on costs. Prospective buyers will respond to the unique and unusual. Salvaged architectural materials have the ability to raise the bar of perception: Buyers respond to one-of-a-kind features. Homes with custom features and distinctive personality sell faster and for higher prices than cookie-cutter models.

Look for Multi-use Value

The possibilities for integrating artistic features and period elegance are endless. Just consider these:

  • Add a carved wood fireplace surround as the focal point for a sleek modern fireplace;
  • Incorporate a freestanding armoire into a kitchen filled with standard upper and lower cabinets;
  • Add a kitchen island top of French marble rescued from an elegant hotel’s lobby;
  • Add Victorian tin ceiling panels to spark design elegance in a modern kitchen or dining room;
  • Create an elegant vanity cabinet from an old buffet or desk;
  • Reclaimed glass — seeded or chicken-wire panes — looks great in new kitchen cabinets;
  • Panel a den wall with peeling painted siding from an old barn;
  • Reclaim antique brick or stone to create a patio wall or pave a small entry;
  • Create porch columns from older pilasters and stairway balusters;
  • Hang a antique framed mirror in a contemporary power room;
  • Incorporate transom windows from an aging hotel as interior accents that bring additional light into dark halls;
  • Use a serviceable chest or bookcase as a window seat or bathroom bench; extra storage is always welcome.

When renovating existing property, don’t let your vision be limited to “modernizing.” Keep all options on the table. Sometimes older is better, not only because the price is good, but because the value far outweighs the cost.

Customer Showcase: Great Jones Apartment

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When it came time to renovate the Great Jones loft in New York City, designer Matt Bear mined our inventory of vintage glass and unique architectural elements to uncover several one-of-a-kind pieces.

As the founder of Union Studio, based in Berkeley, California, Matt’s designs are driven by the materials he uses. Every piece is an expression of his strong commitment to the craft. In the case of Great Jones, he blended 20th-century creative accents and a modern, minimalist style with industrial features reminiscent of the building’s 1903 NoHo factory past.

For the kitchen, Matt created a table from a slab of Carrera marble and a cast iron table base that he sourced from our inventory. The stunning table provides enough room for big meals, as well as space for homework and business meetings.

The Great Jones loft kitchen

 

In addition, Matt installed two of our large, black vintage industrial lights above the kitchen island.

The Great Jones loft kitchen and living space

This gorgeous shower stall was created with industrial wire glass, one of our most popular architectural elements. The inlaid wire—which is appealing to the eye—adds shatterproof durability in addition to style.

The Great Jones loft bathroom and shower

Matt’s clients were thrilled with the renovation, noting, “Matt easily crosses the divide between architect and master craftsman, something we’ve found to be unique and very valuable.”

Check out our vintage industrial glass installation page to see more of the many jobs for which we have supplied materials. Please contact us for information on any of our products here.

All images are courtesy of Union Studio.

Customer Showcase: Reclaimed Glass Doors

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Though its manufacture has slowed in the United Sates, glass embedded with chicken wire has long been regarded, particularly in the world of industry, for its endurance and practicality. Its strength made it an ideal safeguard. It became a staple in factories, where its sturdy, shatter-proof quality kept workers inside safe and insulated from outdoor conditions.

The strength of the material also bestows it another prized characteristic: versatility. The sheer variety of texture with which it can be imbued lends itself to a gradient of design function and aesthetic. This texturing creates the effect of a mosaic: a stained glass window refracting pattern rather than color.

OGT has been salvaging this glass for years and in particular acquired a lot of the pebbled chicken wire glass, recently incorporated into a furniture design project, from a large factory in central Pennsylvania. In its time it was used as a skylight for the industrial powerhouse. It filtered in natural sunlight from a height of eighty feet above the factory floor. Its opacity brings to mind both the billowing haze characteristic of the industrial area, and the subtle beauty of a soft sunbeam.

Turn the clock nearly a century forward, and that same pebbled, chicken-wired glass is salvaged, restored, and put to use in a contemporary New York City loft.

Enter Union Studio, a small business based in Berkley, California, whose specialty lies in interior design and furniture craftsmanship. Each furniture piece, designed by company founder Matthew Bear, is custom built and crafted with utmost quality in mind.

For a company with such a claim to the aesthetic of the handmade, there is much thought, naturally, that goes into the material choice of each piece. And this is where the multi-purpose nature of the factory-recovered glass comes into play.

The panels were first put to use for the sliding doors of this shower. Here, the opacity of the pebbled texture offers the necessary privacy, and the embedded wiring provides the perfect design compliment to the metallic framing and shower handles.

Vintage glass paneling between these door frames bridges one room to the next. The translucency of glass gives the loft a cohesive sense of space. Meanwhile, the texture simulates a patterned fog just thick enough to isolate each room from the other.

The metallic plating of the glass gives even this cabinet an industrial embellishment that is right at home in with the rest of this kitchen area.

It’s remarkable to think that one piece of glass could branch out in so diverse a manner from its original purpose. What started out as distant skylight now becomes three distinct statement pieces that add cohesion and unification to the space through their shared material.

 

View more types of glass available.

View more customer showcases.

 

Olde Good Things