A Whisper of Yesterday

I don’t know about anyone else out there, but I don’t love how many newer houses are cookie cutter style. Sometimes even entire subdivisions have identical homes. They all look the same. One charming idea about homes of yesterday, is that they had character and were not copycats of the neighbors’ houses. I bought my home 25 years ago. It was built in the 1950s with one part of it being added in the 1970s. It was just a ranch style home with nothing special about any of the rooms. Even if your home isn’t built in the era in which you love, there are many ways that you can add your own charm to it to give the rooms a personality. Something as simple as adding an old wooden framed window or stained glass window to an already existing window can do the trick with no tools or construction. Simply lean the old window on the newer window. It gives a warm and cozy look. You might even hang an old window inside the frame of an existing window.

You could also use the old windows to give the illusion of a transom window. I put 4 antique windows together and built a frame around them creating a unique room divider between my living room and dining room. It’s fun to decorate at holiday time with twinkle lights and wreaths!

I have an affinity with stained glass windows, so when I rescued these 2 windows from an old church being torn down, I knew I wanted to do something special with them. My dad and I worked together to create a beautiful headboard and footboard for my bed using the windows as the star of the bedroom!!!

Architectural salvage is another way to bring the past into your home. One such thing is an old gate or old shutters. I used an old gate in front of both of my fireplaces. I also collected many shutters over a few months, painted them, and put them together like a puzzle creating a unique shutter wall.

I actually attached an antique mantle to the more modern mantle of this fireplace. There is something about a vintage fireplace surround or mantle that can cozy up a room.

No matter what your style is, always bring in pieces that make you feel at home.