Does anyone know of a person who can carefully remove a wood and tile mantel from my house?

I know it’s sacrilege, but I don’t care for the style and I’d rather it be enjoyed by someone who likes this sort of thing.


Comments

  1. Thanks to those who offered words of support on removing the mantel! To those who think I’m crazy: I was strongly preservationist when I bought this house but living here for 12 years has changed my attitude a bit. I no longer feel enslaved to the tastes of the people who lived here over a hundred years ago. The place has SO much detail, it looks like a Victorian bordello. And it was dark and rather grim. So I’ve painted some woodwork (gasp!), which has made it so much more cheerful, and am now editing some of the architectural details. (For one thing, who has time to DUST all that stuff? I don’t have servants like my predecessors in this house must have.) I have to live here, and if it doesn’t suit me, I don’t feel like I have to keep it.

    Anyway–
    To theklahy and the others who are interested in taking the mantel: I’m very happy to pass it along, but I was hoping to sell it for something (to pay in part for having Manny LaSalle convert the fireplace to a wood-burning one). I don’t know how to contact you directly–but I can be reached at tullis at nyc dot rr dot com.

    Donatella–Thanks for the suggestion about Manny–maybe he’d be willing to do a deal on the mantel and fireplace work!

    Thanks for the suggestion about Manny taking it

  2. Call Manny LaSalle. His name is in the archives. He’ll probably buy it from you or take it out for a low cost. Maybe there is a fireplace you can swap with him, since he has a lot of fireplaces which he bought from Eddie Hibbert.
    I can’t believe some of the comments here. I think it is ugly too. People worship old stuff because it is old. That fireplace was ugly in 1880. So get another fireplace which fits with the house that is nice. I bought fireplace pieces from Eddie and Manny installed two marble beautiful fireplaces with cast iron grills in the style of the neighborhood in the 1880s. They are gorgeous and yes, they did not come with the house. I think it is your house and that you can improve on the original. Do whatever the hell you want. How is THAT for sacrilege?

  3. Call Manny LaSalle. His name is in the archives. He’ll probably buy it from you or take it out for a low cost. Maybe there is a fireplace you can swap with him, since he has a lot of fireplaces which he bought from Eddie Hibbert.
    I can’t believe some of the comments here. I think it is ugly too. People worship old stuff because it is old. That fireplace was ugly in 1880. So get another fireplace which fits with the house that is nice. I bought fireplace pieces from Eddie and Manny installed two marble beautiful fireplaces with cast iron grills in the style of the neighborhood in the 1880s. They are gorgeous and yes, they did not come with the house. I think it is your house and that you can improve on the original. Do whatever the hell you want. How is THAT for sacrilege?

  4. The focal point is going to look silly with nothing there, sort of like a body with its head chopped off. And the floor won’t look right even if you fill in the wood.

  5. You’re destroying the architectural integrity and value of your home. I’d say the same thing if you were trying to put Victorian style trim in a 1950s modernist apartment.