December 17, 2007

Never-Been-Used Viking Appliances at Build It Green

The range of items you can find in the warehouse of Astoria-based Build It Green! is wide, with everything from droolworthy 19th Century moldings to modern-day hollow-core doors that would get laughed at in any House of the Day post. We scored some beautiful vintage marble there that we turned into countertops. Now, we noticed, the website is touting some brand-new viking appliances at 30 percent off. Any label-conscious kitchen renovators out there?
Viking Wine Cooler $4,299 [BigNYC]
Viking Fridge $4,399 [BigNYC]

Posted by Brownstoner at 10:30 AM | Comments (8)
Categories: Salvage

December 11, 2007

A Thing for Radiators

Here's a guest post that a reader sent in...The cold weather is here and we are now thinking of heating our homes. Some people collect rare coins, others collect baseball cards, I collect radiators. How crazy is that?! I bought my brownstone 10 years ago, it was built in 1910 and I remembered being really bothered by the plain radiators it had. This was the time when plain Edwardian style was in and the ornamental Victorian radiators were out. So I said the heck with it and started searching for interesting ornamental radiators, restoring them and installing them in our house. I remember thinking, "it's a large functional object in my space, so it should be attractive". The variety of style in the castings I find really interesting. Some of the designs look like stylized flames and clouds of steam. They breathe and hiss with such personality too. One of the earliest ones I have has a lace shelf on top and has a stamping on it that reads J.R. Reed's Patent April 9. 1878. Another one has a floral design from the American Radiator Co. It has a humidifier that works really well. My cat loves to drink from it for some strange reason. Recently I found one of the rarest examples in a ghost town in PA. It sat in an old bar that hasn't been in use for 70 years. This odd radiator has a built in warming oven that works much like a hot plate keeping food warm. It was made for fancy dining rooms at the turn of the century. It works surprisingly well, just yesterday it kept a cup of coffee warm at 110 degrees.

Posted by Brownstoner at 11:01 AM | Comments (31)
Categories: Salvage

December 10, 2007

303 Park Pl: If You Don't Like Old Houses, Don't Buy One!

You'd think that people who have no appreciation for older architecture could find a house that's already missing its original details when it comes time for them to buy something. Instead, some people (like the new owners of 303 Park Place) buy a gorgeous historic home and proceed to strip it to the bone. Here's what the Craigslist ad (which expired over the weekend) said:

Due to remodeling of a 100-year old Prospect Heights 1-family brownstone, we are offering selected antique Victorian architectural items. This is a one-time chance to improve your home with gorgeous authentic details that are seldom on the market. Items include Victorian oak fireplace mantels, redwood staircase complete with 3 stair runs, curving railings, balusters, Tiffany-style stained glass window panels, Victorian solid gingerbread entrance doors, antique tin ceiling tiles, ornate glass ceiling chandeliers, hinges and doorknobs and more.

Can any neighbors let us know what the couple plans to do with this place? Ugh.
House of the Day: 303 Park Place [Brownstoner] GMAP P*Shark
Victorian Antique Architectural Items [Craigslist]

Posted by Brownstoner at 10:03 AM | Comments (66)
Categories: Prospect Heights, Salvage