Reusing old, adding new

IMG_0383

John and I last changed our garden paths in 2009. While I work in my office in WP668 (our backyard caboose) today, I can see a work crew noisily building forms to pour the new concrete paths and steps for the porch we are constructing.

Our 1930 house is a combination of Spanish Mission, and Arts and Crafts style. We want to make additions and changes look like part of the original house, so we are combining original and new elements. We are lucky that both styles are still popular. Our new porch will feature new tiles from Fireclay and lighting fixtures from Hinkley that go well with what is already in the house.

Our original downstairs light fixtures are black wrought iron Spanish style, while those upstairs are Art Nouveau (both styles being popular in 1930). Our next door neighbor’s house in Willow Glen originally matched ours. Some years ago, he took out all of his original fixtures during a remodel and generously gave them to us. In addition to replacing my son Paul’s garden-side window with two round windows as part of our porch addition, his room is getting a second wall sconce – since he wanted more light and we had a fixture that matched.  Even though there are just a few brick paths as they were when we bought the house in 1998, we carefully saved extra old brick for reuse. I will be happy to see the stacks of old brick along our back fence, and the old roofing tiles stored on our driveway back in use.

IMG_0387

IMG_0467

IMG_9236

IMG_0241

Images Copyright 2012 by Katy Dickinson

3 Comments

Filed under Home & Family

3 responses to “Reusing old, adding new

  1. Dorothy Dewing's avatar Dorothy Dewing

    What, pray tell, is that in the last picture??  Dorothy

    ________________________________

    • Katy Dickinson's avatar Katy Dickinson

      The bottom photo shows the period light fixtures we scavanged from our neighbor’s house – two yellow ceramic 3-bulb ceiling light fixtures with glass “slipper shades”, plus 3 wall sconces. The dark metal wall sconce is similar to the style to the original fixtures in our living room, the two yellow sconces match the ones in our upstairs rooms.

  2. Pingback: Bricklaying | KatysBlog

Leave a comment