Architectural and Altered Antiques
The Architecturologists got another nice supply of tropical ipe wood beams and decking, this time coming from a lower Manhattan pier. (The previous batch came from the Coney Island boardwalk). The existing pier is being demolished for the construction of a new shopping mall. Email for details if you have any interest!
From coastal California homes to Pulino’s restaurant in the Bowery district of Manhattan, vintage chicken wire glass is being used as a design element in a number of creative and unique ways.
Originally manufactured to provide durability, stability, and security to industrial or commercial buildings such as schools and fire stations, this industrial-grade glass has a network of wire molded into it, making it strong and shatter-resistant.
In addition, the variety of netting shapes and glass textures make the chicken wire a versatile design choice, especially if you want to evoke a nostalgic feel or country theme in your home. Choose from clear, textured, pebbled or hammered glass and a wormy, square or hexagonal netting design.
Savvy homeowners are using this glass in almost every room of the house. Whether your style is Country French, Classic White or Modern/Industrial, you can create a one-of-a-kind custom kitchen using chicken wire glass. Show off your crystal or copper cookware by replacing solid cupboard doors with glass. Design an open and airy pantry with chicken wire glass doors. The effect works well on curio hutches and china cabinets in the dining room too.
starbucks2Carry the look into the living room, family room or office. Protect your books, TV, stereo equipment and keepsake decorative items by using chicken wire glass doors on your shelves. The wine cellar is a natural for this beautiful glass.
And think about adding chicken wire glass doors to the cabinet above the bathroom toilet.
To let light into your home while sustaining privacy, consider using chicken wire glass on your French doors or skylights. This type of glass is a sturdy and wise choice for patio or balcony enclosures. We’ve even seen a vintage barn that incorporated chicken wire glass doors.
On the commercial side, Starbucks in New York City uses chicken wire glass panels as space dividers. Cata Restaurant in Manhattan’s Lower East Side features a patchwork of chicken wire glass textures in their exterior windows, while The Arlington Club on the Upper East Side has an atrium skylight and soffit above the bar made with pebbled chicken wire glass.
The Acqua Al 2 restaurant in Washington, D.C., uses hammered chicken wire glass to cover storage areas. Its casement windows are also made from a patchwork of chicken wire glass of various textures.
One Manhattan apartment created a canopy with salvaged corrugated chicken wire glass, while the Diane von Fustenburg showroom designed an unusual awning with corrugated chicken wire glass retrieved from the Philadelphia Naval yard.
Ready to try some in your next renovation or building project? Olde Good Things carries a wide variety of vintage chicken wire glass: clear, pebbled, hammered, ribbed, wormy square, aqua pebbled or textured. We can cut your order to size. A cutting fee may be applicable depending on the order size. Samples are available upon request.
Things to know about ordering vintage glass:
• The wire twists in chicken wire glass run top to bottom, the direction of the height. When requesting a quote please provide your dimensions as width x height.
• With all our glass products, we can do cut-outs, drill holes and cut to your template patterns. Templates must be provided in a rigged material.
• All our glass is reclaimed vintage material, and most have been used, so expect signs of age from exposure to weather and use.
• Minimum order $300.
Samples are available.
The industrial revolution marked a huge change in history; the beginning of an exciting journey into an era filled with growth. This new era meant change, change in how things were manufactured, and the speed at which they were completed. Every aspect of life would change and improve as hand production moved to machine production increasing productivity and efficiency. The transition from hand production to machine began in Great Britain, and over a few decades made its way to the United States. This move boasted an improvement in water power, the increase in steam powered production, and the creation of machine tools.
When pondering over this time period, the 18th and 19th century’s images of large machines operated by steam may come to mind. Large, bulky and metal might be a few adjectives that could describe this era, but not words such as beautiful, unique, full of ambiance and creativity. Though one may not consider the industrial age to be a thing of beauty, one’s opinion may change upon entering Boulton & Watt in Manhattan, NYC.
This historic Manhattan building has been home to several industrial businesses over the decades, but now it is home to a restaurant that honors and beautifies the industrial era – Boulton & Watt.
This sign is a beacon to those who love amazing food and want to be wowed by their surroundings while they eat. Boulton & Watt will give them both.
Boulton & Watt is a restaurant full of history and charm that can be found on a prominent East Village corner in Manhattan New York. The history behind the building in which Boulton & Watt resides dates back to the 19th century when the industrial revolution was making its mark in history. Before Boulton & Watt took over occupancy, the building was once known as the neighborhoods working factory and engine repair shop. Love and gratitude for this remarkable era is obvious to guests upon entrance to the restaurant. The rich history of the industrial era was carefully kept intact by the creative minds at Emporium Design.
Emporium Design prides themselves on being a forward thinking design-build firm that specializes in creating unique spaces that complement the mind, ideals, and heart of each of their clients. Those looking to hire a design team that is not bound by in-the-box thinking are drawn to the Emporium Design firm. The goal of this company is to help create a lasting impression for everyone who enters one of their client’s buildings, and that is true of those who walk into Boulton & Watt.
The image is the perfect complement to the wood and steel footrest stools, and various machine base table legs Olde Good Things provided for this design/build project.
The wall art is ‘geared’ towards the theme.
Walking into Boulton & Watt is like taking a trip into the past. The Emporium Design Firm wanted to preserve this building’s deep and prolific history, and so they designed the restaurant’s theme around the look, feel and history of the building. In order to achieve a complete industrial feel the Emporium Design team needed a little help. They had the ideas, the dreams, and the vision, but they also needed the design elements and materials to bring those dreams to life. We are one of the largest architectural antique dealers in the country specializing in historical artifacts from the nineteenth century and the pre-depression era. This makes us a popular choice for design projects such as the amazing design and build of Boulton & Watt. Part of the unique experience of eating at Boulton & Watt is sitting amongst, and literally on, history; history that has been gathered and displayed beautifully thanks to the keen eye of those that work for us, and the effort they place in locating and repurposing all kinds of antique items.
The bar is where everyone seems to gather, and when that bar is in Boulton & Watt, it’s easy to see why; the distressed mirrored glass, and the gears that turn an Olde Good Things salvaged ceiling fan add a taste of the Machine Age.
The image is the perfect complement to the wood and steel footrest stools, and various machine base table legs Olde Good Things provided for this design/build project.
Industrial, adjustable singer stools are just one of the reclaimed items from Olde Good Things that can be found in Boulton & Watt. Wood and steel footrests compliment a uniquely fashioned table designed and put together from various machines that are true to the era being honored. Throughout the restaurant one can see little touches salvaged by Olde Good Things such as the glass behind the bar, which boasts a lovely distressed mirror and helps add a dash of industrial flavor from an earlier time period. The Emporium Design team left no space untouched by history, to be true to the restaurant theme.
The gears behind the bar are rigged…
… to turn a large salvaged ceiling fan.
These mint green urinals are one of the quirkiest things Olde Good Things has salvaged. Not only do they have practical use, they are pleasing to the eye.
Doorknobs, decorative iron, mantels and even salvaged urinals are just part of the unique items OGT has reclaimed and repurposed; when the designers at Emporium Design needed to complete the look and feel of the bathroom at this industrial themed eatery they knew they would find what they were looking for at Olde Good Things. To truly accomplish a task as grand as an industrial themed eatery, it takes multiple individuals, teams, and specialist, to pull off such a feat; the people at Emporium Design and Olde Good Things accomplished their goal beautifully. Those that have the unique privilege of eating at Boulton & Watt would all agree that the atmosphere and décor reminds them of an exciting time in America’s history.
A guided tour of our national warehouse in Scranton, Pa., that you won’t want to miss.
Olde Good Things has been mentioned in a recent pictorial feature in Design NJ, New Jersey’s Home & Design Magazine. This pictorial featured the incredibly beautiful designs of Linda Maley and Lisa Keyser, sisters and owners of Whitepop Design. Whitepop Design has the distinction of being featured in several NJ design magazines, showcases, and having the opportunity to design homes for people all over the East Coast.
The magazine pictorial featuring OGT was a great pat on back for the expertise of Whitepop Designs in integrating architectural salvage into existing interiors.
Here is our commentary on the pictorial featuring photo highlights of Olde Good Things’ salvaged goods.
Vintage items bring a warmth and grandeur that can’t be paralleled by new renditions of old things. The most important aspect of antiquing is knowing how to collect the showpiece items and learning to bypass the items that lend a sense of untrendy grandma-ness to a space. Classic old pieces are worth the investment as they bring depth and crumble the common platitude of modern factory recreations of style. At Olde Good Things, you will find treasures like the old church railing that recalls the grandeur of the Gothic era. To truly repurpose something may involve giving it a previously inconceivable function. The use of the railing as a truss adds swooping lines to an entry for a great room making it something more than the sum of its parts.
The beautiful dark wood railings, overhanging decorative supports, and breathtaking stained glass windows were carefully salvaged by OGT from a Gothic church.
An up close and personal view of the eye catching stained glass windows and salvage Gothic church railings.
This is another glorious view of the salvaged dark wood Gothic church railings that have been repurposed as faux support beams.
Walk into the room and find salvaged stained glass windows that echo a distant past. The house dons a grace and elegance from the past that has been brought to life through its salvaged parts. For the full impact of a thoroughly made-over house, the antique wainscoting and solid wooden wall paneling mimics the lines from the Gothic railings and windows and fireplace. Coming together like the final crescendo in an orchestral piece of full-bodied sound, the full grace of antique French doors leads to a sense of awe and silence fitting of a quiet, old lounge vaguely bedecked with musty cigar smoke and conversations lulling on fire lit nights.
The breathtaking Gothic dark wood paneling and wainscoting caressing the length of this hallway is a prize OGT was more than happy to award with this remodeling project.
These amazingly detailed hand painted windows were imported from Argentina and lovingly handled by OGT until they found their forever home in this place of honor in the kitchen.
Entirely possessed with a seemingly impossible cozy grandeur, the home is a complete relic of the past brought to full life in a present day setting through the art of Olde Good Things’ style and unique sense of perfection. A stark contrast to any cluttered antique store, the style and elegance in this home resonate through each piece salvaged from locations around the world. Argentine charm comes together with pieces so reminiscent of an old church, they seem to vibrate with tunes of old hymns sung in a capella resonance and the final rattle of a distant subway station in New York comes through in the kitchen tiles perched auspiciously beneath an ornately carved wooden hood for the stove and beautiful wooden ceilings that bring the entire picture into focus.
These gorgeous French doors and hand painted transom were salvaged and imported from Argentina. Just another of the incredible pieces OGT has been privileged enough to obtain.
Very much alive, the past comes to a complete and final harmony with the present in each room throughout the home. Each item is beautifully showcased to perfection. Rich with stories and beautiful lives of their own, the antique pieces dwell somewhere in the liminals between time leaving their audience to wonder at their splendor and giving a whole new life to the walls of the home. Few walls require an entire audience to marvel at them, but these with their hand painted Argentine windows and ornately carved wooden panels, are quite something else. Made by hands from another time, the pieces evoke a kind of passion and stillness within the heart of the beholder.
If walls could speak, these would have more to tell than any modern re-fabricated attempt at reproduction and would be well worth several afternoons of hot tea and conversation. As for the present caretakers of the items, they live a life surrounded by reminders of the past and beauty of eras gone by. Perhaps in harkening back, it becomes possible to also look forward and imagine hallowed silences and moments of importance passing again before these very walls before they continue their journey and become part of new stories.
Subway tile
Argentine Glass
The photos in this post were taken from Design NJ, New Jersey’s Home & Design Magazine, February/March 2013 edition. Thank you!
Design NJ, February/March 2013
Olde Good Things has been mentioned in a recent pictorial feature in Design NJ, New Jersey’s Home & Design Magazine. This pictorial featured the incredibly beautiful designs of Linda Maley and Lisa Keyser, sisters and owners of Whitepop Design. Whitepop Design has the distinction of being featured in several NJ design magazines, showcases, and having the opportunity to design homes for people all over the East Coast.
The magazine pictorial featuring OGT was a great pat on the back for the expertise of Whitepop Designs in integrating architectural salvage into existing interiors.
Here is our commentary on the pictorial featuring photo highlights of Olde Good Things’ salvaged goods.
Vintage items bring warmth and grandeur that can’t be paralleled by new renditions of old things. The most important aspect of antiquing is knowing how to collect the showpiece items and learning to bypass the items that lend a sense of untrendy grandma-ness to space. Classic old pieces are worth the investment as they bring depth and crumble the common platitude of modern factory recreations of style. At Olde Good Things, you will find treasures like the old church railing that recalls the grandeur of the Gothic era. To truly repurpose something may involve giving it a previously inconceivable function. The use of the railing as a truss adds swooping lines to entry for a great room making it something more than the sum of its parts.
The beautiful dark wood railings, overhanging decorative supports, and breathtaking stained glass windows were carefully salvaged by OGT from a Gothic church.
An up close and personal view of the eye catching stained glass windows and salvage Gothic church railings.
This is another glorious view of the salvaged dark wood Gothic church railings that have been repurposed as faux support beams.
Walk into the room and find salvaged stained glass windows that echo a distant past. The house dons a grace and elegance from the past that has been brought to life through its salvaged parts. For the full impact of a thoroughly made-over house, the antique wainscoting and solid wood wall paneling mimics the lines from the Gothic railings and windows and fireplace. Coming together like the final crescendo in an orchestral piece of full-bodied sound, the full grace of antique French doors leads to a sense of awe and silence fitting of a quiet, old lounge vaguely bedecked with musty cigar smoke and conversations lulling on fire lit nights.
The breathtaking Gothic dark wood paneling and wainscoting caressing the length of this hallway is a prize OGT was more than happy to award with this remodeling project.
These amazingly detailed hand-painted windows were imported from Argentina and lovingly handled by OGT until they found their forever home in this place of honor in the kitchen.
Entirely possessed with a seemingly impossible cozy grandeur, the home is a complete relic of the past brought to full life in a present-day setting through the art of Olde Good Things’ style and unique sense of perfection. A stark contrast to any cluttered antique store, the style, and elegance in this home resonate through each piece salvaged from locations around the world. Argentine charm comes together with pieces so reminiscent of an old church, they seem to vibrate with tunes of old hymns sung in a capella resonance and the final rattle of a distant subway station in New York comes through in the kitchen tiles perched auspiciously beneath an ornately carved wooden hood for the stove and beautiful wooden ceilings that bring the entire picture into focus.
These gorgeous French doors and hand painted transom were salvaged and imported from Argentina. Just another of the incredible pieces OGT has been privileged enough to obtain.
Very much alive, the past comes to complete and final harmony with the present in each room throughout the home. Each item is beautifully showcased to perfection. Rich with stories and beautiful lives of their own, the antique pieces dwell somewhere in the liminal between time leaving their audience to wonder at their splendor and giving a whole new life to the walls of the home. Few walls require an entire audience to marvel at them, but those with their hand-painted Argentine windows and ornately carved wooden panels, are quite something else. Made by hands from another time, the pieces evoke a kind of passion and stillness within the heart of the beholder.
If walls could speak, these would have more to tell than any modern re-fabricated attempt at reproduction and would be well worth several afternoons of hot tea and conversation. As for the present caretakers of the items, they live a life surrounded by reminders of the past and beauty of eras gone by. Perhaps in harkening back, it becomes possible to also look forward and imagine hallowed silences and moments of importance passing again before these very walls before they continue their journey and become part of new stories.
Subway tile
Argentine Glass
The photos in this post were taken from Design NJ, New Jersey’s Home & Design Magazine, February/March 2013 edition. Thank you!
Design NJ, February/March 2013
Olde Good Things was featured on HGTV’s Bronson Pinchot Project on their ‘Main House Garden‘ episode. In this episode, Bronson tries to tame the scraggly patch of grass and shrubs next to his house that passes for a garden. But in Bronson’s world gardening involves less planting and more building. Bronson visited one of our warehouses located on Brook Street in Scranton, Pa., and purchased 100 copper shingles that were salvaged from a 100-year-old church steeple roof. For years now we’ve been repurposing the shingles into copper mirrors, seen below. Bronson also purchased a copper cupola several months before, featured on the show. There is a similar Cupola dome with louvered sides still available.
If you’ve been reading this blog for the last few months, you’ve probably come across a post or two about designer Michael Laudati. Michael isn’t just some novice interior designer with aspirations for greatness, he has changed the face of many historical building lobbies in New York City.
With Michael’s eye for detail, taste and understated flair, and Olde Good Things’ incredible and varied selection of historical salvaged materials, lobbies that have lost their uniqueness have been restored to their original beauty. This has increased the number of visitors to once lonely historical buildings.
Recently, we caught up with Michael to see what he’s been up to – and we were pleased by what we discovered.
His newest project included remodeling an Upper West side building lobby. The redesign was a tricky feat because part of the lobby space included an awkwardly placed storage closet – how does one make a storage closet look good?
According to Michael: “The door to the closet was custom made to fit the opening but I added a vintage elevator door grille in the opening backed with textured glass that allows light from a window behind it to shine thru”. As you can see from the image, this is one stylish storage closet, and OGT provided the materials Michael needed to make it look so good.
This Upper West Side lobby was also in need of a lighting makeover. With a lighting fixture handpicked from OGT’s stock of salvaged lighting fixtures, Michael installed this gorgeous chandelier fixture that creates an atmosphere of class and elegance that plays artfully with the new storage closet door.
So, do you want to see into the heart and home of this prolific designer?
Michael’s apartment in The Adlon is dressed with three Secession style iron grilles on the wall over the couch. These have been fashioned into a work of art. The cast iron fireplace screen, the gorgeous red and gold cafe chairs, the Secession table lamp beside the couch, and the tile top industrial coffee table are all pieces Michael found in one of our warehouses.
We’re glad to be a part of Michael’s creative remodeling and design projects. We’d love to be a part of yours as well. Check out our selection of salvaged materials, handcrafted furniture, and repurposed art pieces at any one of our six locations.
Right before the rush and rejoicing of Christmas is a holiday known as Thanksgiving. We’re sure you’ve heard of it. Thanksgiving is a time for food, family, fun, and festive Fall decorations. Families gather around the table to eat turkey and the carbo-licious side dishes, and then pile their plates with pumpkin pies. Once the meal is done, they fall asleep on the couch – victims of that pesky post-Thanksgiving meal fatigue. After they’ve napped, they pull on their caps and gloves, gather their lists together and make their way to the store wide wrestling match, also known as, Black Friday (only it’s really on Thursday night).
With all of that said, can you imagine having a Thanksgiving meal without the table? The first Thanksgiving meal took place at a table, or even a few tables, but those were probably crudely made using whichever wood was easiest for the Pilgrims to use (they weren’t particularly used to the environment of the wild Americas).
Tables come in many different shapes, sizes, and levels of quality. Does your table provide everything you need for a fantastic Thanksgiving meal? Sure, there may be enough spaces, but does your table offer something more than just a place to sit and eat? Does your table double as a conversation piece?
The handmade farm tables at Olde Good Things are made using salvaged wood, handcrafted using high quality carpentry processes, and can be made to order to fit your style. 
This table is crafted from salvaged wood and painted white in order to provide the perfect foundation for table decorations. Imagine setting the table with bright reds, oranges, and deep browns – place mats, plates, napkins, and centerpieces made of fallen leaves and cranberries surrounding tall, thick white candles.
Even before your guests sit down to eat and be filled by your Thanksgiving feast, they will see and be amazed by your table.
If you want to see our wide and gorgeous selection of farm tables, and add one or two to your Christmas wish list, visit one of our showrooms.
We at Olde Good Things are excited about spending time around the table with our families. We wish you a Happy Thanksgiving filled with lots of great food and grateful hearts.
If you frequent the Mt. Dora Antique & Collector Extravaganza, you can see us there at Booth No. 2118 and 2119, Renninger’s Twin Markets at 20651 US 441, just east of Mount Dora and 30 miles north of Orlando. Our friendly salesmen have all the usual Olde Good wares – antique tin framed mirrors and panels, architectural artifacts including fencing, building stones, doors and plenty of other interesting finds, as well as a good sample of our manufactured line of furniture made from reclaimed materials – such as our famous farm tables – including ones with industrial style metal legs. The show starts Friday November 16 through Sunday November 18th. A 3-day pass is only $15 and free parking. So come and see us. We hope to see you there.
