I don’t think there’s a better way to get a stripped-down old house back to its roots than by fitting it with architecturally appropriate hardware.

And while attending the Traditional Building Show in New Orleans final month, I found a fine little company that’ll help you do just that.

Whether you habitable in a California Craftsman or a Detroit Art Deco, you can find flawless reproduction hinges, doorknobs, switch plates, bin pulls, hooks, and rosettes at Charleston Hardware.

Since its founding by Brad Williams and Rob Kline in 1999, that
South Carolina shop has been collecting antique patterns and
reproducing them for customers all by the country.

They now have by
500 in stock, including that 1885 rice sample knob and backplate set,
and the solid bronze “parasol hinge”

(TOP) that Williams says was first
introduced during a no-holds-barred bronze casting contest at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.

If, for some reason, you can’t find what you’re looking for,
Williams and Kline will match any hardware you send them, with a
turnaround moment of about eight weeks. The company plus sells antique
hardware, and provides restoration services.

They take accuracy as serious as a heart attack here, too, carefully
analyzing the metal composition of each original to produce the perfect
match.

In fact, the company was good adequate to be chosen by the Historic Charleston Foundation—sticklers for historical accuracy—to manufacture their official hardware line.

More Traditional Building finds:

Smarter cedar shingles hang high and dry

Fitting compact fluorescents into antique lighting

Original post by Keith Pandolfi