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Architectural Classics BlogArchitectural Classics BlogAt the Architectural Classics blog, we combine traditionally comprehensive information on caring for your antiques, with the offbeat Art Deco style fun and trivia from the world of old homes, lighting and door hardware. Articles
Doorknobs a Forum for Social Debate
2008-05-30 11:30:00 No, this blog is not about what happens when a group of ants and houseflies gather on your doorknob, and start talking about whether it is better to have a million eyes, or to be able to lift a hundred times your own weight. (We all know it is better to be able to lift ... More About: News , Social , Debate , Forum
Truly Dumb as a Door Knob
2008-05-24 11:30:00 It really is amazing what people think of ? while the world has given us some extremely useful inventions: like the wheel, the toaster and the electric nose hair puller, it has also given us some not-so-useful ones. These retractable doorknobs are possibly one of them! Another one of the many things that makes me ... More About: News , Dumb , Door , Knob
Dusty Ancient Feel
2008-05-21 11:30:00 You can almost hear the creaks and groans as you heave this huge old wooden door open, can?t you! Such an expressive photo. You could be forgiven for thinking that the photographer actually went back in time to get this shot, with the traditionally-robed man walking along in the background. We assume he is part of ... More About: Archeology , Feel , Ancient
The Midas Touch
2008-05-18 11:30:00 For arbitrary reasons that the metal itself would probably find most amusing (were it able to giggle!), gold is one of the most valuable metals worldwide. Most societies have a fascination with it, it is used as a universal measure of worth, and many a person has lost their life over this soft, heavy, ... More About: Touch , Midas
House and Garden 60th Anniversary
2008-05-12 11:30:00 The United Kingdom?s House and Garden Magazine recently celebrated their 60th anniversary ? that is a great many years to be telling people how to decorate their homes! To commemorate the occasion, they have chosen some highlights from the six decades they have been around to wallow in nostalgia over ? adverts, food dishes, fabrics, ... More About: Anniversary , Newsletters
Door Not Found
2008-05-09 11:30:00 One that Internet regulars among us will appreciate? Although perhaps, from the photo, it should say ?Door Handle not Found??! Funnily, this would no doubt be a lovely metaphorical interpretation of what actually happens when a web page is not found ? there simply is no way to get into the site :-) And finally, ... More About: Other
Door Knobs as Cognitive Affordances
2008-05-06 11:30:00 God bless academics, that can make the simplest and most beautiful of things into an adventure into the dictionary. Did you know that door knobs are also ?cognitive affordances?? I?m going to have to use some direct quotes here, as the language is impossible to paraphrase: “Physical and cognitive affordances help users perform physical and ... More About: Door
Site of the Month: The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
2008-05-03 11:30:00 As you?ve no doubt realised, (although only since discovering the Architectural Classics blog!), the Internet is occasionally useful for something other than sales and advertising! Our gem of a site for this month is The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage (NIAH), an effectively and simply designed register of architectural heritage in Ireland ? home ... More About: Site , Month
Disappearing Doors, Needless Knobs and Avoidable ?Andles
2008-04-30 11:30:00 Thank goodness they haven?t yet invented one of these for your home! We would be out of a job.This is a disappearing car door ? and I challenge you to see how it works the first time you see it ? or even the third time! It really does seem to disappear without a trace ... More About: Other , Doors
Door Knob Looney Tunes Madness
2008-04-27 11:30:00 Did any of you watch Looney Tunes as a child? You know, those incredibly violent cartoons that our grandparents and other childless adults said would turn us all into violent, angry, psycho killers by the time we reached our late teens (We sure showed those GODDAMNED STUPID PRUNES ? excuse me ;-) ! Well, it ... More About: Other , Door , Knob , Madness
Cleaning Mineral and Porcelain Knobs
2008-04-24 11:30:00 Porcelain door knobs come in so many beautiful and colorful varieties ? they are the only door knob medium that you can actually paint on, and the ones that we do have need to be well preserved. Here?s a few tips on how to safely clean and maintain porcelain, and also mineral (clay) door ... More About: Cleaning , Do It Yourself , Mineral
Old, but Still Dangerous!
2008-04-21 11:30:00 Such an ancient style, this knocker and studs on a heavy old wooden door. Despite their obvious age, they are still shaped pretty much like the day they were forged (of course we have to assume a little, since we weren?t actually around. They may have started out life shaped like giant bananas, or something!). I ... More About: Dangerous
BBC Homes - Period Styles Guide
2008-04-15 11:27:00 Although it is sort of like giving away trade secrets, we felt we absolutely had to include this awesomely detailed, well set-out, clear, concise and above all, useful site in the blog! The BBC?s Homes area contains this very practical page, which details most things that you would want to know about a wide range ... More About: Styles , Guide , Period
Beauty in Context
2008-04-11 11:30:00 We love this beautiful fox shaped door knob as much for it?s surroundings, and the way they are captured in this photo, as for themselves. The entire shot almost seems like one of those cryptic puzzles, where you have to name things in photos and put them together to make either a different word, or ... More About: Beauty , Context
Going Nickel-less
2008-04-08 11:30:00 For those of us not growing up in a country where nickel could buy you lollies at the milkbar on a Saturday, you may not have been introduced to this metal until now! Nickel is a very popular choice for traditional door hardware ? but why? And wherefore? And how come? Nickel is chemically close to ... More About: History
Parasol Knob
2008-04-05 11:30:00 This very unusual, very striking traditional door knob is Italian (although that information has come through a string of Chinese whispers!). Such an unusual shape, to have either a flattened or concave back half of the knob, and a rounded front half. It makes it seem like a lady?s parasol … albeit with quite warlike, ... More About: Knob
Germs Inspire Genius!
2008-04-02 11:30:00 Poor old doorknobs often get quite a bad rap. We are culpable for contributing to it ourselves ? blog posts report on the footpull used to avoid germy bathroom doors (where 34% of men, and 12% of women don?t wash their hands!), and also on the bactericidal properties of brass. But we only just recently ... More About: News , Genius , Inspire , Germs
Interesting Patination
2008-03-30 11:30:00 If there are any amateur chemists out there that can tell us how this brass door knob has developed that beautiful pastel green verdigris patination in the valleys in the design, we would love to know! It is usually confined to copper, we believed … And if the photographer happens to read this, could you please ... More About: Interesting
From Drugs to Doorknobs
2008-03-27 10:30:00 In the US town of Naples, in Florida, drugs have been turned (indirectly!) into doorknobs, by socially responsible police policies. They have not managed to compress any fine white powders into anything sturdy enough to open a door with ? although psychedelic mushrooms are already sort of doorknob shaped, aren?t they?! What has actually happened ... More About: News , Drugs
You Ain?t Nothin? But a Hound Dog
2008-03-24 10:30:00 These are in the French quarter in New Orleans ? cool, hey?! I would love to see how they develop if they are left to age for a little while though ? they have so many knobs and strings and bits and bobs, that a bit of colour depth in the form of a patina ... More About: Hound
Big, Bold and Brassy
2008-03-21 10:30:00 For a gorgeous metal, brass has gotten a bad rap over the years. In Hush, Little Baby, if the diamond ring turns to brass, papa will have to buy a looking glass instead (as if that is better than a diamond on a brass ring!) . The word brassy is used to describe hair that ...
What metal are the muddy handles?
2008-03-18 10:30:00 These gorgeous medieval looking handles are actually on a church door in Boston. They look huge, solid and chunky, until you look a bit more closely and see that the little bits at the right and left-most edges of the rings are actually leaves, pounded flat and shaped around the ring. It looks as if ... More About: Metal , Muddy
Site of the Month ? Homebug
2008-03-15 10:24:00 You may have noticed recently in some of our product descriptions (if you have been a diligent renovator!), that many of them advise on what sorts of rooms particular pieces will work best in. The delicate and detailed feminine pieces are often linked with rooms filled with flowers and lace ? the bold, strong malleable ... More About: Site , Month
I Ain?t Saying Nuthin?, Copper!
2008-03-12 10:30:00 Poor old copper ? it?s very name is a insult in some circles. Although admittedly not in the most refined and sophisticated circles! But no matter what circle, square, triangle or otherwise you move in, if your period style home favours copper furnishings and infrastructure, we?ve put together a handy reference guide for the metal ... More About: History , Copper
Old or Dirty?
2008-03-09 10:30:00 You can see where this door once had a knocker on it, by the indentation below the handle, and the metal circle that is perhaps a striker plate ? although not very well positioned, by the dents! So perhaps this handle is not quite as old as it looks, and maybe just a bit dirty? The handle ... More About: Dirty
Consistency or Contrast?
2008-03-07 10:22:00 One of the more important decisions that you will make when doing a traditional renovation is whether to purchase the same hardware for every room of your house, or to mix and match ? and then just how eclectic you can be with your choice of handles! In an Oklahoma newspaper, Mi-Ling Stone Poole, the resident ... More About: Contrast , Consistency
ArchitecturalClassics.com is a ?TOP SHOP?!
2008-03-06 16:38:00 Editors in Irish Independent have featured us in their ‘Top Shop ’ section. Thanks for that guys! More About: News , Top Shop
Feature on Flowing Lines
2008-03-03 10:15:00 Gorgeous flowing lines like on this old door handle feature in so many of our pieces ? however the backplates are usually quite a bit more detailed. Don?t you think this handle would look great with some of the wrought iron pieces, which are silver varnished over a black base ? just like the gorgeous ... More About: Feature , Lines
Don?t Forget to Call Doorknob?
2008-02-28 10:21:00 What do a doorknob and your bottom have in common? No, it isn?t a trick question. No, not that they?re both round, and it has nothing to do with having ?buns of steel?!! We recently happened across a game which apparently is popular enough to warrant a Wikipedia entry, although I have never heard of it. Just ... More About: Other , Call
Al the Greek
More articles from this author:2008-02-24 10:24:00 These gorgeous and very different pieces of door furniture are the work of Alexander ?Greek ? Thomson ? and yes, the nickname does come from his penchant for yiros, fetta and olive oil, indirectly! He was a huge fan of Greek architecture, and this flavours all of his work and creates some really bold, beautiful pieces ... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
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