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Olde Good Things

Architectural and Altered Antiques

Leave No Stone Unturned

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When the architecturologists at Olde Good Things engage in our architectural salvage work, we often find stunning antique stone and terracotta artifacts. To add an historical and unique element to your home, building project, garden, or patio, antique stone items are a striking choice.

Since so many of our stone and terra cotta items have such a rich history, they are incredible conversation pieces and symbols of past eras. If you are looking for a beautiful garden stone or a terra cotta or cast cement garden decoration to enhance your landscape, look no further than Olde Good Things. Below we have selected a few select pieces including a 40 ft. limestone multi-piece frieze from the Philadelphia Civic Center, figural lady face frieze from the facade of a Times Square building as well as life-size marble angels from a NE Pennsylvania church.  Take a look.  Come shop with us from our vast online selection of unique building stones for your next project.

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Philadelphia Civic Center Transportation frieze

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1930s statue pair from Wezleg Macs estate

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Time Square salvaged stone lady building facade

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glazed terra cotta wall

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Pair of life sized marble angels

[Stone & Terra Cotta]

[Stautes & Fountains]

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Cast stone urn with cherub figures

Customer Showcase: Pearly Gates Bar Reinvention

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Pearly Gates Bar in Frankfurt, Germany just underwent a major redo

Pearly Gates Bar in Frankfurt, Germany just underwent a major redo

On a cobblestone street in Frankfurt Germany one will find a newly transformed classic venue called Pearly Gates Bar.  This one-of-a-kind local eatery and bar was in need of a dramatic and lasting redesign, and they called on designer, Madjid Djamegari, for help. Djamegari, known for his redesign of The Gibson Club, wanted to create an interior space with a classic 1920s vibe—complete with the sensual lines and simple yet stylish fixtures of an American speakeasy. Unfortunately, there aren’t many architectural salvage and repurposing specialists in Europe, so Djamegari travelled to New York to find the perfect pieces for his perfect vision. Fortunately for Pearly Gates Bar and for us, he stumbled upon a small shop filled to the ceiling with everything he needed to make his mark on a timeless German bar. He’d discovered Olde Good Things where he tapped into the wares at our Madison Avenue location, handpicking many vintage and altered antiques to create his desired look.

Much of the seating, lighting and table tops were supplied by OGT

Much of the seating, lighting and table tops were supplied by OGT

For a touch of glimmering illumination in his interior transformation, Djamegari chose these beautiful copper pendant lights which he hung from 100 year old reclaimed tin-tiled ceiling. The tin ceiling was pieced together from actual vintage tin OGT salvaged from buildings in NYC and Chicago. You can get a better idea of the work that goes into the removal, cleaning, and restoration of tin ceilings by reading our blog post here. The pendant lights, once backstage lights at the 1930s Philadelphia Convention Hall in Philadelphia, form a glow of subtle lighting over the bar area.  The table tops were custom made from reclaimed copper and galvanized sheet metal, and were built in our custom furniture shop at our warehouse in Pennsylvania.

Leather couch and oak bankers chairs were purchased at our Madison Ave. Store.

Leather couch and oak bankers chairs were purchased at our Madison Ave. Store.

Much of the seating was supplied by Olde Good Things, including the swivel top stools, the 1940s leather couch, and mahogany banker’s chairs.

Not only did Djamegari have comfortable seating in mind, he also wanted to draw in the style and vintage charm of classic NYC with these small sconce lights lining the intimate corners of the bar. These wall lights once graced the white-tile walls of the New York City Subway system.

Sadly, the pictures supplied do not feature some other interesting items used during the redesign. These items include: vintage bathroom pedestal sinks and reclaimed doors.  Although Olde Good Things, Madison Ave is our flagship location, there are three more unique locations in New York City, one in downtown Los Angeles, and two large warehouse locations in Scranton Pennsylvania.  Each of our locations house an eclectic variety of salvaged, restored, and re-purposed items perfect for a restaurant, commercial, or residential redesign, remodel, or refurbishing.

To see what else OGT has to offer, visit our website and look through our growing inventory, or visit one of our locations in-person for a real eye-opening, design bending experience!

Creating an Outdoor Oasis Using Salvaged Items

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Having an outdoor living space can be a wonderful, relaxing addition to your home. Continuing the decorating style you already use indoors into your outdoor space can also help to increase your home’s value. It can be difficult to know how exactly to do this, however, particularly if you’ve used salvaged items to create a unique look for your home. As the top salvage company in the country, we have the opportunity to create many interesting decorative pieces and spaces using salvaged items in ways many people don’t even think of. Read below for how you can create a beautiful look for your outdoor space using items from one of our many locations.

 

Every garden should have a gate or a door, but not necessarily as an entry point.  Above is just a small selection of iron entry ways available at Olde Good Things.  An antique French door that no longer contains the glass (like the one from our online selection shown above) can make a beautiful trellis for climbing flowers or decorative vines. Refinishing or painting the door in a bright, bold color can also make it a lovely accent piece when placed against a fence or a garden wall. For a more traditional look, two solid doors can be connected with other wood pieces at the top to make a beautiful arbor. Consider placing a bench or reading chair beneath it to create a peaceful nook for reading, relaxing, or late afternoon naps.

An old bicycle can be used to decorate an outdoor space

An old bicycle, like the one shown here can make an excellent conversation piece. Turn the handlebar basket into a planter, and
consider weaving climbing flowers or vines through the wheel spokes and around the frame. The color of the bike can be incorporated into your garden’s theme, or it could be used as an eye-catching piece to liven up a more drab area of your outdoor space.

Tables missing their tops, or chairs that are missing their seats also make excellent planters, and can be very interesting pieces. These types of items also work quite well in smaller spaces, or on patios that don’t have any real planting space.

An open top table can be used as a garden element

An open top table can be used as a garden element

Stone pieces are a traditional choice for decorating an outdoor space, but that doesn’t mean that they have to be boring or ordinary. Consider moving beyond traditional stone planters and statues, and search for something more unique. Using a piece with an interesting design can really bring your personality to your garden. Salvaged stone pieces from mantels, decorative walls, columns, and other elements can really make your garden a unique and interesting place to relax or have friends over.

 

Here a salvaged garden stone makes a centerpiece in this garden

Here a salvaged garden stone makes a centerpiece in this garden


For larger gardens, consider breaking up the space with an interesting element like a piece of stained glass, or an antique chandelier draped in glass beads. No only will elements like these look interesting, the light shining through and reflecting off of them will create beautiful patterns and colors that will really help your garden stand out. Use a bit of a strong, antique chain to hang these elements securely from a tree, arbor, or trellis. If you prefer the look of wood to glass, an antique window frame with the pane of glass removed can make an excellent hanging planter and define the space in a similar way.

A salvaged window makes a great garden element

A salvaged window makes a great garden element

Using salvaged or antique items in your garden can be a wonderful way to set your garden oasis, and your home apart from the others in your neighborhood. Using pieces that are unique and different is a great way to create a space that shows off your style and personality, while giving you a wonderful place to relax and get away from it all.

With the help of Olde Good Things, you can easily transform your backyard into a hideaway just for your enjoyment, or a mindblowing entertainment space that you and your family and friends can enjoy.

Entry Transformation Using Reclaimed Glass

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The craftsmanship is typical of what you would find from the days gone by.  When Paul took on this job, he decided vintage glass would bring the right finishing touch, and sure enough he was right.

Vintage hammered chicken wire glass was used in this hand-fabricated iron awning

Vintage hammered chicken wire glass was used in this hand-fabricated iron awning

Safety glass in a hammered texture is no longer fabricated new with this twisted chicken wire.  Therefore Olde Good Things specializes in reclaiming factory windows and making this glass available today.

Take a look at the gallery of pictures from this installation and view the video of Paul Lombardo in his fabrication stages.

Take a look at Paul’s creative video seen here:

Customer Showcase: Antique Hand-Stenciled Wooden Ceiling

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42 Star Island designed by first registered architect Walter DeGarmo in 1925

42 Star Island designed by first registered architect in Miami, Walter DeGarmo in 1925

A closer view of the Star Island mansionThis home, once one of the most visibly and architecturally noteworthy mansions along the MacArthur Causeway in Miami Beach was lost to the wrecking ball in 2014.  Fortunately, the architecturologists from Olde Good Things were on the scene, to salvage some of the original architectural elements prior to it’s demise.

One of those fascinating elements removed was this hand-painted stenciled ceiling done in the mediterranean style, here seen in it’s original setting.

Hand-stenciled ceiling in muted green and red tones

Hand-stenciled ceiling in muted green, orange and brown tones

These pictures show the architecturologists gently removing the ceiling piece by piece.  Each piece was numbered carefully in order for it to be repurposed by a future owner.
Piece by piece, the ceiling is being removed
Each piece has been numbered

This unique ceiling has already found a new use.  It is being implemented in a large building project in Missouri.  Here you see pictures in the building stages:

Olde Good Things has become the dignitary associated with amazing building elements salvaged from many remarkable buildings in the United States, this home being just one of them.  Take a look at the link to famous building artifacts on our web site to see other offerings at this time.

Open Your Doors and Invite Creativity In

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Because Olde Good Things has so many stores and such great warehouse space we often find that we are salvaging tons of the same types of things just because they’re neat and need to have a new home. One of those much salvaged objects is the door. There are so many old Victorian homes, old industrial buildings, and old office and apartment buildings that have incredible doors that we just couldn’t let them go to the mulcher! We had to save them! So we did. The problem is that now we are up to our eyeballs in salvaged doors that need to find a new home with our loyal and tasteful readers.

 

Entire entry door set salvaged from this Victorian Home

Seen here at our warehouse

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you’re wondering, “I already have doors in my house, why would I want more”, you should consider that you can be as creative as you wish with these doors. They can be refinished and repurposed into something totally new. Let the doors of your mind fly open, greet creativity on the threshold and…tops. Because they are long and typically pretty thick, you can design and affix legs to the flat surface of the door, and refinish and paint the door a natural wood color, or go all out and paint it to match your favorite centerpiece. You can also make a salvaged door into a coffee table.

Invite it to dine

Don’t forget that when you have a table, you should also have a place to sit! Narrow solid closet doors can be re-purposed into benches. You can either leave them as they are, or design pillowed cushions to glue on top.You can use an old door with transom to make a built in for your dining area.

Invite to rest

If you’re remodeling or redesigning your bedroom spaces, you should consider using salvaged doors as head boards and foot boards for your bed. Solid or French doors can make an incredibly eye catching headboard when place directly behind the head of the bed.

Old French door from Olde Good Things converted into a cool headboard

Old French door from Olde Good Things converted into a cool headboard

It’s recommended that your screw or nail the doors to the wall for safety. Your door headboards can be left as they were found for a vintage look, or they can be refinished and painted as an accent to put the finishing touches on your bedroom oasis.

Invite it to marvel

Salvaged doors can also serve as a blank canvas on which your imagination can truly take flight.  Artists can take a single or dual panel solid door and paint a masterpiece upon it, which they can then hang upon a wall. A floral pattern to bring life to a living room, a geometric design to bring striking colors and shapes to a hallway or entry way, or an entire panoramic painting of the Smokey Mountains – be as creative as you want to be in order to create the space you want using salvaged doors.

These are just a few of the ideas we came up with. Do you have any great ideas you’d like to share of ways that you’ve reused and repurposed salvaged doors? Check out our large selection of salvaged doors at one of our store locations, or come by and rummage through our warehouse in Scranton. We’d love to have you, and we’d love you to love our collection of old doors.

St. Patrick’s Day: Do the GREEN Thing!

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Kilbennan_St._Benin's_Church_Window_St._Patrick_Detail_2010_09_16Historically speaking, St. Patrick’s Day is a day when Catholics, Anglicans, and Irish-Americans celebrate the man and the myth, Saint Patrick. Celebrated on March 17th, the day is meant to commemorate the life and the ministry of the Patron Saint of Ireland.

Modernly and commercially speaking, St. Patrick’s Day is a day when Americans celebrate their love for the Irish, and the color green. Cities throughout the country hold parades and costume and craft stores offer customers quirky t-shirts, anything featuring shamrocks, and lots and lots of leprechaun images.

Scranton, a city known for its Irish immigrant and Irish-American communities, isn’t just home to one of the most popular and well-attended St. Patrick’s Day parades, it is also home to Olde Good Things headquarters and main warehouse.

In order to get into the spirit with our fellow Scrantonians we are showcasing a few of the green items in our inventory.

Is your home in need of a bit of antique flare and a splash of color? Why don’t you  give this early 20th century carved wood frame love seat with plush lime green upholstery a try?

Early 20th century green love seat with a carved wood frame

Here’s a gallery of other green seating if this isn’t your style…

 

We also have a great number of green tiles in our inventory. These tiles are perfect for remodeling projects in kitchens, bathrooms, or mudrooms.

Green French Empire style marble mantel with bronze sphinx details

 

If the seating or tiles aren’t your thing, you might consider this green French marble Empire style mantel. This mantel is medium-sized with bronze sphinxes flanking each side and a bronze center motif. This mantel is one of a kind and in excellent condition. This is one of several additions from Danny Alessandro & Edwin Jackson mantel company.

If you’d rather have an industrial perk with a green flare, take a look at these offerings:

 

The final item in our Olde Good Things “do the green thing” post is this set of hunter green shutter doors featuring heart cut-outs to add accent and simplistic beauty. These doors measure 52.25 in. H x 18.875 in. W x 1.375 in, and are in good condition.

Hunter green heart cut out doorsOlde Good Things is glad to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with you by offering you a 15% discount on green items on our web site on March 17th.  Just call or email and mention you saw this offering on the blog post.  If you’d like to see more of the green items in our inventory—from industrial lamps to furniture to mantel clocks—visit our warehouse or one of our locations. If you’d like to learn more about any of the items featured in this post, please contact us.

From all of us at Olde Good Things, we wish you a happy, healthy, and “green” St. Patrick’s Day!

 

 

Tin-Tilating Decor at Olde Good Things

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Tin is one of the most utilized metals on the planet. Aside from its use in numerous alloys, such as bronze and pewter, it is also a stand-alone metal used most notably during the innovative and industrial 1800s.

Ornate tin ceilings became prevalent in 19th century America

Ornate tin ceilings became prevalent in 19th century America

Most Americans couldn’t afford the expensive yet beautiful intricately designed plaster ceilings so popular in the wealthy houses in Europe so they sought a less expensive, more durable, more eye-catching material—tin—to fabricate ceilings and walls throughout many of the buildings erected in the late-1800s.

Tin ceilings withstood earthquakes, fires, and other disasters unlike their weaker, less practical plaster cousins. Understandably, the fireproof property of tin made it an in-demand building product, especially in Chicago after the devastating fire in 1871.

Once World War II began the need for tin in military applications skyrocketed which meant it became a scarce commodity for builders and interior designers. Thankfully, a few of the buildings where tin ceilings were a featured showpiece are still in existence, and Old Good Things has had the opportunity to salvage these gorgeous pieces, restore and repurpose them.

Before a building is demolished, the owners call Olde Good Things to salvage architectural pieces that would otherwise molder in the dump, alone, forgotten, and covered in layers of filth. When we arrive at the site, we get to work building scaffolding and prying each piece of tin from the ceiling with pry bars. With a little gentle nudge and a lot of elbow grease, we carefully remove the tin and transport it to our warehouse.

 

As you see here, we have quite a few tin panels in stock at our Scranton warehouse. When a customer orders a custom-made tin ceiling or mirror we get to work hammering out the dents, scrubbing and washing the panels, painting them, and covering them in protective coatings to ensure they stay beautiful for decades to come.

After being salvaged, this is where our tin ends up for you to selectA colorful pile of tin to suit your design tastes

 

 

 

 

 

Here are a few more examples of the tin panel works our customers have done in their design projects:

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Not only is tin a glorious addition to make any ceiling pop, it can be used in interior furniture design. Olde Good Things designs and fabricates tin mirrors, and our customers have used the refurbished tin in backsplashes, tables, wall and bar covers and other interior design elements.

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Can you image how fabulous a colored tin backsplash would look in your kitchen? What about a vintage or antique tin mirror in your entryway, bathroom, or public areas? Business owners, would a handmade, custom-designed tin ceiling draw the eye of customers as they walk by? Think of how popular your retail space would be when people stop in just to see your amazing tin ceiling.

Ceiling tin of all shapes, colors and sizes can be created by you!

Our tin looks amazing over a mantel

If you love a rustic, vintage feel you can’t go wrong with refurbished, repurposed tin. To learn more about our salvage, restoration, or design process, contact us. To order your very own custom tin creation, contact our craftsmen through our Scranton warehouse.

Not only do we have amazing tin creations, we are also home to a growing collection of decorative iron and bronze pieces. Learn more about those here.

New Home For an Old Timer

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Tick Tock Diner on 34th Street in Manhattan
There’s nothing more refreshing than renovations using past architectural elements in new designs. Customers at Olde Good Things include builders, designers, architects and innovators who just want to add a touch of old world charm to their installations.

Here’s just one of many of our customer’s re-uses of an antique architectural element in a modern design project. This clock once stood the test of time atop a 1905 meeting hall in Cherryfield, Maine. Now it is catching eyes at the Tick Tock Diner on 34th Street in Manhattan. Send us a few photos of your project with up-cycled elements from Olde Good Things to add to our library of interesting innovations done by our customers. Even if you only have an “after” shot feel free to send your photos to [email protected]. Let us know if you are willing for us to post them to our web site, privacy observed of course.

Meet the Olde Good Things Lions: Come Roar With Us!

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Madison Ave has long been synonymous with high fashion, boutique stores, and all the amazing designer items you could possibly imagine. We at Olde Good Things are super proud of our Madison Ave store and the name it’s making for itself in the city and the community. There are hundreds of salvaged, repurposed, and restored items on display in our store, but the one thing that seems to keep grabbing our customers’ attention is the lion that greets them as they arrive.

Famous OGT Lion outside our Madison Ave. location

This lion, a vintage, beautiful salvaged amusement park fountain piece from years ago, is the unofficial mascot of OGT, but that doesn’t stop people from asking how much he costs, or where they could pick up their own lion.

Some who stop to see the lion can’t help but take selfies, snap quick pictures, or share a tale about how our lions remind them of someplace or some wonderful memory from their childhood. We couldn’t be more proud of our lion, the amazing positive emotions he evokes, and the delightful buzz he brings to our stores.

If you’ve visited our Madison Ave store, you may have met our lion, or if you’ve seen our truck making the rounds in the city, you might have caught a glimpse of his twin brother who makes a permanent roaring statement from the back of our open-back truck.
Our lion makes a fun photo prop!

 

 

 

 

 

If you are passing by our truck, wave hello!

Do you have questions about our lion? Please ask. We’d really enjoy providing any information you need. We are also eager to show you a few hundred of the other items we’ve salvaged over the years, and the hundreds of thousands of items we have in our ever expanding inventory. If we don’t have it in our Madison Ave store, you may be able to find it at one of our other locations.

Do you have a picture of our lions you’d like to share? Please share them via instagram #ogtlions. We are always looking for pictures of our beloved lions online. View our instagram lion slideshow below.

Do you have a precious childhood memory our lions brought to mind? Please share in the comments section below. We love hearing from our customers, and we love hearing from those who’ve been inspired or impressed by our items—including our mascots.

If you like our lions, you’ll love our other figural items. Here are a few conversation pieces you’ll find on sale:

Below you find one of the latest additions to our lion family.  This highly detailed center lion with swag motif three piece sandstone set from Time Square NYC.  Small quantity available.  Isn’t he a friendly looking character?Lion three piece stone friezeThis lifesize fiberglass lion isn’t as vocal as his Madison Ave cousin, but he has his own beauty and special features. He’s perfect for a garden setting, or a conversation piece outside of your own store.

These gorgeous limestone, art deco mountain lion statutes are the perfect pair. They will liven up your outdoor spaces or can serve as a greeting (or warning) to guests from your front porch. No matter what, you’ll find these amazing big cats will start a conversation.

Cast stone Deco mountain lion statues

To learn more about these items, please contact us. We’d love to hear from you!

Olde Good Things