House in Progress Diary

Oh, why wait 'til the pre-teen years? When I knew I was having a girl the first time, a chandelier was one of my first nursery purchases. And with Girl #2 on the way, it was once again one of my obsessive searches for the past few months.

BTW, if you have a chance to scan in the Architectural Lettering plate from your book, I would love a hi-res version of it. I can send you my FTP info if that's the easiest way to get it to me. Thanks!

Does it have little glass tear drop crystals hanging from light sockets? It looks a lot like one I had in my Chicago house from the early 20s..POPS --30--

It's beautiful...I want one in my room and I'm 26! A close friend of mine has a similar (but smaller) one in her all white kitchen...it's added a very romantic, whimsical feel to her otherwise minimalist decor.

Pops--Yes! It has little glass teardrops. In fact, I had to take some of them off and put them away because Aaron kept knocking into them with his head. My mom reports that my Nanny had one just like ours that she used to have my mom clean for her.

Nicole--Have you seen the ones on eBay? Or they have knock offs at Urban Outfitters and Pottery Barn Kids. But the salvage ones really rock.

I think all little girls love crystal chandeliers. :-)

We had one in our dining room when we bought our bungalow:

http://bungalowinsanity.com/wp-content/uploads/typepad_exports_bungalow/yamhill_dining01.jpg

It didn't really fit our vision for the dining room, but our daughter LOVED all the twinkly crystals, so my husband rewired it and hung it on our back patio. I really hated it in the dining room, but I have to admit, outside, it's kinda charming, especially at night.

http://bungalowinsanity.com/wp-content/uploads/typepad_exports_bungalow/cimg4770.jpg

Stephanie--That is COOL!

No, there are very few "true to the style" homes. Even 100 years ago some things had to be purchased cheap and local, even if it was Victorian!

hey guys love your stuff, i don't know if all the kit homes of the twenty's did this or not but my sears bungalow had a light kit that was picked for the house by the company. i don't know if it's because it's later or not but they all seemed to colonial.

I've been reading "Creating the Artful Home: the Aesthetic Movement" by Karen Zukowski - it's a very well written and interesting book connecting the Victorian aesthetic movement to what's going on today with the popularity of HGTV shows, the decor magazines, etc. Anyway, she talks alot about how the Victorians had a sort of "everything goes" kind of style. The average homeowner couldn't go to NY and buy all their pieces from the Herter Bros showroom floor - they mixed old and new and did their best to create what they saw in magazines on a much smaller budget. Just like we all do :)

If you look at Victorian architecture as a whole, it's sometimes very mish-mash - in a charming way, of course. Seems like America was in an experimental phase!