Vintage Hardware

I love using vintage hardware when I am recreating pieces.  There is something about vintage hardware that you just don’t see with the new stuff.  The weight.  The patina.  The design.  Even when you can find good reproductions, there is still something missing. Not long ago, I came across this stash of vintage hinges and I was giddy with excitement!  Besides their obvious beauty, all I could think of was how they were still in their original packaging!  I kept thinking of the The Big Bang Theory and the guys saying their action figures were “mint-in-package!”  HAHA.  My new, old hardware was mint-in-package!!  Sooo cool!  Ok, they weren’t really in “mint” condition but I was as excited as the guys on the show talking about their action figures being mint-in-package 🙂 If you’ve ever seen The Big Bang Theory, you know exactly what I am talking about!  (Note to self… maybe cut back on The Big Bang Theory watching if you start comparing 1970’s hardware to action figures!) In the lot of 15 packages, there were three different styles in a similar pattern.  They were all gorgeous!  When I found them at the Habitat for Humanity Store I felt like I had won the lottery!  Before I even got them to the cash, my mind was whirling with all that I would like to do with them. I was/am so in love with these beauties that I almost hated to use them 🙂 I did use some though, despite my despair over the possibility of never finding more like them, on some rustic wood signs that I had been working on.  Some I left in the original brass colour, and some I used a little Silver Lead Rub ‘n Buff on to turn them into more of a silvery colour. 

I think there is something so breathtaking about the mix of paint, rustic wood and the ornateness of the vintage hardware and I still can’t believe my luck at finding these beauties!

A few of these signs are available through the Recreated Designs Etsy shop.

Linked to:

{Chic on a Shoestring}   {French Country Cottage}   {Funky Junk Interiors}   {Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson}   {Olives & Okra}   {The Cottage Market}