Wednesday, February 10, 2010

french door & antique Morris chair

My house was built with a door opening between the kitchen & living room, but did not have an actual door. Since this opening at the central point in the house, I installed a door there to give definition to both of the rooms.


The wall opening was 36 x 80. This is a standard door size, which means no additional expense to buy a custom size. Unstained pinewood French doors go for $160 at Home Depot.


In this post there are no pictures of the actual installation which included:

mortising, sawcutting, aligning, prestaining, staining, drilling, installing knob, installing latch, installing jamb.



Stain color is Early American. Knob is brushed bronze.

The actual door was about 1/2 inch too wide, if you allow room for swing & hinges. I narrowed it along the hinged side using a circular saw. Narrowing it along the knob side would have required the knob be installed too close to the glass, which might give it an unbalanced appearance.

Morris Chair


The rearranged living room allows much more space, having moved the entertainment center to a far wall against the stairway. Part of it I filled with a Morris chair bought at the Putnam Antique market. This Morris chair was made by the Quaint Art Furniture Co. of Syracuse NY. The antique cost about as much as a new one.

Mission style is part of the American Craftsman style of early 20th century. The craftsman decorative style was contemporary to the Arts & Crafts bungalow style architecture movement which featured clean lines and natural forms. Frank Lloyd Wright was of this genre.

The Stickley Furniture company was started around 1900 by Gus Stickley and run by five brothers. It soon split up and spawned several other companies making similar furniture.


Quaint Art Furniture was in business 1909-1916. They say an original Stickley is the real deal, but that spinoffs, including Quaint Art, were of similar quality, and the company was probably run by someone who worked in the original Stickley business. The shop label underneath indicates the authenticity.


The Morris is a bit awkward next to the Ultrasuede couch. I will be looking for a secondhand dark table or bookshelf to complement it.


Snow 2/10

A few inches so far



1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Love the new door. Great!! Also, the snow scene out back.

Mom

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