Finishing Fantasies and Faux Finishes "in the real world."

And now for a little skewed perception. It's time to play a little game called:

"Let the camera do all the work for you"

....wherein we try to take pictures that make it look like our restoration is completely finished already.

Todays contestants are Mr. and Mrs. Wall Corner, Lady Lamp and Mistress Ceiling, Roaring Hearth, and The Floor Siblings. Let's give them all a round of applause for playing.

Meanwhile, back in the real world...

The guys have been plastering away..

....and okay, so the other half of this room:	....looks like this:

..but a lot of lime plastering and painting has been getting done!
(For those of you who are curious, you can learn
more about historic lime plaster HERE.)

We're also experimenting with pigments that are rumored to be lime-friendly,
trying to create the color we will use for our hall walls.

Historical Pigments

If you're going to embark on a painting project of your own soon, and want to read up on environmentally friendly paint options, here are some useful online reading materials we've found:

Painting Green Types of eco-friendly paints Selecting Healthy and Environmentally Sound Finishes Selecting Healthy and Environmentally Sound Stains Choose Green: Wood Finishes and Stains Environmentally Preferred Paint Options FAQ Sources of Indoor Air Pollution – VOCs. Understanding Stains NY Times article: "The Promise of Green Paint" greenseal.org Green Home Remodel Guide (pdf) Green Paint Fact Sheet Prepared by Eco Painting

Vintage Cast-Iron Steam Radiators and New Restoration Pictures

SALVAGE

Vintage Cast-Iron Steam Radiators

To see photos, click here!

These radiators were taken out of a home we are restoring in Athens, New York. We have many elegant specimens with fine detail, scrolling, and unusual designs and patterns. Radiators vary in color from white to silver and gold. Some look retro, some more antique. Whatever kind of radiator you are looking for, the chances are very good that we have it. You can come see the lot and pick the ones you want in Athens, NY:
call 518-945-1253 or email: info@howardhallfarm.com

The bird that used historic lime mortar to weave its nest.

Who would have guessed that an avian would learn to use restoration techniques at Howard Hall Farm? Ralph was moving an abandoned nest off the wall so we could get to work on restoring the corbels, and discovered that the bird had been stealing little beak-size clumps of lime mortar from the bricks before it had time to set! It had also added strands of golden thread, and little bits of wool from the shearing of our Shetland sheep! Thus proving that even the tiniest of creatures can surprise us with their adept integration of green restoration techniques, historic materials, environmentally friendly insulation, and style!

The gorgeous corbels about to be restored:

Inside the house, John tackles the parlor ceiling:

THREE COAT LIME PLASTER ON RIVEN LATHE:
Step 1: Scratch-coat on the main parlor ceiling

+ =


And Nicky has been priming the doors and stairwells:



We've also had many great applicants for restoration internships.
Thanks everyone who applied!

A new spin on historic revivification

This past weekend, I saw a breathtakingly beautiful and creative new kind of historic "restoration". Three fantastic Troy artists brought a lost history to life. To read more about their wondrous and hauntng project, go to: http://spectresofliberty.com/site/

From their site:

"Spectres of Liberty is a public memory, site-specific art project. Beginning with a sense of loss about the changing built environment of Troy, New York, we set out imagining ghosts of demolished buildings and structures. Through imagining inflatable sculptural extensions to buildings whose facades have been destroyed to thinking about recreating vanished historic sites, we decided on creating a ghost of the Liberty Street Church.

The Liberty Street Church is not only significant as a vanished part of Troy's architectural history, but also for its value as a historic site in the fight to abolish slavery. From old photos of the site provided by the Rensselaer Historical Society, we created an inflatable 1:1 scale reproduction of the church and will install it at the former site of the church, which is now a parking lot. We will be animating this ghost church through video projections that call forth the history of the site, as well as through the social context of a cultural event that will bring community members to the site to think more deeply about the space and its history.

Through our research we learned more about Henry Highland Garnet, the pastor of Liberty Street Church from 1843-1848. He was known around the world for his militant orations and publications calling on people to actively participate in the fight to end slavery. When we read Henry Highland Garnet's words from the 1840's: "Let your motto be resistance! resistance! resistance! No oppressed people have ever secured their liberty without resistance," we do not think they are dead words from a forgotten time - but a call, an urging, to participate in transforming our world now.

Spectres of Liberty is a project by Olivia Robinson, Josh MacPhee, and Dara Greenwald."