Where it started…

A vintage kitchen with wooden cabinets, a central island, a four-light chandelier, and a window with lace curtains.
Old kitchen with wooden cabinets, a tiled countertop, and a window showing a winter scene outside. There is a kitchen island with a coffee mug, a dishwasher, and a black refrigerator. The kitchen has hanging lights with stained glass shades.
A cozy kitchen with a wooden island, a black refrigerator, small windows with lace curtains, a floral chandelier, and a brick accent wall.
A room under renovation with construction tools, materials, and partially finished walls. There's a vacuum cleaner, stacks of flooring, and various power tools on the floor. A light fixture hangs from the ceiling.
A kitchen with wooden cabinets, a black dishwasher, and a double sink. The walls are partially stripped, with old wallpaper and patches of exposed wall. There is a window above the sink, and a four-bulb chandelier hanging from the ceiling. An island with shelves is in the center, and various tools are on the counter.

….and how it progressed

A kitchen space under renovation with unfinished walls, two windows, a dark refrigerator, a wooden cabinet, a wooden door, and a ceiling light fixture.
Unfinished kitchen with wooden cabinets, a large wooden island, and a window with a winter outdoor view. There is a hanging stained glass chandelier, a small table lamp, and some tools on the counters.
Empty kitchen with wooden cabinets, a kitchen island, construction tools, and a chandelier with stained glass lamps.
Kitchen with wooden cabinets, a kitchen island, tiled floor, and a partially renovated back wall.
Kitchen with partially installed white marble floor tiles secured with yellow and red tile spacers. Wooden cabinets on the side and brick wall background.
Kitchen with wooden cabinets, a stainless steel oven, a patterned tile backsplash, a wooden kitchen island, and a chandelier with stained glass shades.
Kitchen with wooden cabinets, black stove, metallic backsplash with circular patterns, and a window on the right side.
Unfinished kitchen backsplash with small square tiles in shades of beige, brown, and black, framed with wood and surrounded by a red wall.

Built from the Heart

Knotty pine to build the range hood and components to rebuild the china cabinet were pulled from the walls of my grandfather’s home. His home has been completely remodeled but the new owner was kind enough to allow us to pull these parts so the memories can live on in his next generation’s home.

Kitchen with wooden cabinets, a black range hood, a stainless steel oven, decorative wall tiles, a purple kettle on the countertop, and baskets labeled 'Bread' and 'Pemmican'.
A wooden box or structure made of vertical planks with visible wood grain and knots, sitting on a table against a stone wall background.
Wooden frame construction on a workbench in a woodworking shop with tools and supplies around
Wooden kitchen hutch with decorative plates on top, tea cups, and appliances including a toaster oven, blender, and coffee maker placed on the counter.

It happened again!

A section of soffit was in very poor condition and in need of replacement. As you can see in the comparison photo, several carpenter bees called this their home.

The trouble started when trying to match the bead profile. There was no match in the local lumber yards and I was not in need of enough of it to justify having a knife cut at the mill. It was just a little bead so I shopped around for the proper router bits. Beads are a common detail so this would be easy. Nope! All beading bits terminate to a flush cut where mine terminated to a point😢. A final stop was made to pick up a blade I could grind into the profile needed for the simplest homemade shoulder plane.

I sent myself back to the 1800's on this one and but within a few hours I had my matching bead and this home survives another attempt at removing its character.

Little added bonus photo of planer shavings! Everyone still love those, right?

Close-up of painted wooden molding and gaps between the molding and the wall, revealing some distressed areas.
Close-up of a miter saw with a piece of unfinished wood secured on it, ready to be cut.
A piece of wood secured in a saw with a guide, ready for cutting, with a red handle visible in the background.
Close-up of a table saw cutting through a piece of wood, with wood shavings in the groove.

Built-Ins that feel like they were always there.

One of the worst parts about a new piece is that they have a way of looking like a new piece!🤔 This happens to be where Period Adornments shines. It takes a bit more planning and quite a bit of customization but if you are patient enough, the right pieces are out there. These gorgeous, beveled glass french doors came to us out of an architectural salvage company in Cleveland, OH.

With a bit of trimming, patching, sanding, and repainting, they are ready to live out another life and become part of the stories told by their new family.

No built-in would be complete without it’s shelving, and in true historic style, we had to create historically correct adjusters. To top(or bottom?) it off, newly milled baseboard to replicate the rest of the home.

Empty built-in closet with a shelf at the top containing some pillows and bedding, with a white interior and dark hardwood floor.
Empty white corner cabinet with glass-paneled double doors, four shelves, and yellow interior, situated in a room with dark wooden floors and a yellow wall.
Pair of white double glass-pane doors with multiple rectangular glass panes, one door with red background and the other with clear glass showing inner shelves.
A white wooden door with nine glass panes laid on a workbench in a workshop, with various tools and materials visible in the background.
A miter saw on a workbench with wooden pieces cut and clamped, set up for a woodworking project.
White built-in cabinet with glass-paneled doors, open to yellow walls and three shelves inside, on a dark wood floor.

If you can't find it, we can build it!

Really love it when these ones come along. That warmth and shelter you see in your home is often seen by other little creatures as well. Some of those others, you might not always want to share that space with. Spray foam had worked for a few years, but a proper repair will work for a century. This one was a new dentil, patching of the frieze and ovolo, and two new corbels to finish it off.

Close-up of damaged and deteriorating building exterior with cracked paint, exposed foam insulation, and rusted metal components near the corner of a structure, with a black plastic gutter running along the side.
Close-up of a chipped black gutter with rotting wood underneath, and a piece of sponge stuck to it, with a residential street visible in the background.
A woodworking workspace with a piece of carved light-colored wood, a dark burnt block of wood, and various woodworking tools on a white table.
Close-up of the underside of a black-painted wooden porch roof with decorative trim and rain gutter.
Close-up view of the black painted soffit and fascia beneath the roof edge of a brick building. In the background, a residential neighborhood with houses, trees, and a parked car on a rainy street.