Decorative Vent Covers: Shaking off the Cold in Style!

Kansas City’s weather reminded me that winter is fast approaching. Temperatures dipped into the 30’s and cold rain persisted throughout the weekend. I appreciate the changing seasons in the Midwest and even enjoy the first couple of months of winter. Outrageous heating bills withstanding, I find it incredibly comforting to come out of the cold to a warm home. Hearing the furnace kick-on got me reminiscing of memories of my childhood huddling over a heat register thawing myself after spending hours sledding down what then seemed to be a monstrous hill in our backyard. I recall that old heat register was far from decorative. In fact, the gray steel register looked like it was designed to appear as a piece of the furnace in the basement rather than hardware that would be in plain sight at the front entry of our house.

Amazingly, these same steel heat register are still the standard builders' grade vent covers installed in homes built today. Shop 4 Classics, however, offers a wide range of highly decorative vent covers. These cast iron, brass and bronze vent covers can be used throughout the house or selectively in high visibility locations depending on your budget. Below is an overview of the various types of decorative vent covers available at Shop 4 Classics.

Classic Grills Bronze Vent Covers
Classic Grills manufactures cast bronze air return grills and heat registers in many styles including: Arts & Crafts, Art Deco, Victorian and traditional. Classic Grills also has unique grape vine and tropical bamboo themed vent covers. Most of their bronze grills are offered in light brown, dark brown and antique burnished brown. They also offer grills in white bronze with a satin finish.

Hamilton Sinkler Bronze and Brass Vent Covers
Hamilton Sinkler also offers bronze air return and heat registers. Their bronze grills feature a rich brown patina and are available in a very popular scroll design as well as contemporary styles. Their Strathmore vent covers are constructed of solid brass and are available in polished brass, antique brass, satin nickel and black finishes.

Brass Elegans Brass and Bronze Vent Covers
Brass Elegans’ Victorian and contemporary solid brass air return grills and heat registers are available in a variety of finishes including polished brass, antique brass, pewter and dark bronze. These same vent covers are also available in solid bronze with a dark brown patina finish.

Reggio Register Cast Iron, Aluminum and Brass Vent Covers
With sizes ranging from small toe-kick grills to very large floor grates, Reggio Register’s vent covers are available in probably the widest range of sizes on the market. Although Reggio Register is best known for its popular Victorian style vent cover, they also offer a contemporary grid style vent covers as well as high velocity circular vent covers.

Clawfoot Tub Shower Diverter Fervor

A diverter is a valve that has a single inlet and two outlets. Rather than open and close like most valves, a diverter valve alters the flow of water from one outlet to the other outlet. In terms of the clawfoot tub faucet, the diverter switches between the tub filler and a shower. The shower may be a stationary overhead showerhead or it may be a handheld shower. A second diverter, known as a handheld shower diverter, can be added to the clawfoot tub shower to provide the option of tub filler, stationary showerhead, and handshower.

One of our most frequently received questions is, "how do I add a shower to my clawfoot tub faucet?" Unfortunately, if the faucet does not have a shower diverter, it will not support a shower. If the faucet does have a shower diverter, the diverter’s likely function is to choose between spout and handheld shower. Sign of the Crab also offers faucets with a shower diverter that can be capped off so the customer can build the shower as their budget permits. However, even these faucets have a shower diverter (third) handle which makes the diverter easy to recognize.

If your faucet has a shower diverter, it will support a shower. If the faucet has a handshower but you want to convert it to a stationary shower, you will need to remove the handshower bracket from the faucet. A shower riser will be attached in its place. As I previously indicated, adding an overhead shower to a clawfoot tub faucet does not necessarily eliminate the option of a handheld shower. You simply need a second diverter. The first diverter switches between the tub filler and the shower. The second handheld shower diverter then switches between the stationary shower and the handheld shower.

Shower diverter and handheld shower diverter connections are not dictated by an industry standard. The presence of a shower diverter valve makes it likely that the clawfoot tub faucet will support a shower but the parts required to complete the conversion will depend on the clawfoot tub faucet. Check with Shop 4 Classics for help identifying the correct parts to complete the conversion from clawfoot tub faucet to clawfoot tub shower.

Add Old World Charm of Belle Foret Faucets and Sinks to Your Kitchen

Is adding a classic sense of style at a reasonable price a requirement for your kitchen remodel? If so, consider some of the latest products from Belle Foret. Belle Foret faucets and sinks feature Country French inspired panache and are offered at prices where superior style meets the modest budget. Shop 4 Classics now offers Belle Foret’s latest offering of kitchen faucets and sinks.

Belle Foret faucets' timeless appearance captures the charm of old world craftsmanship while their construction includes today’s highest quality materials and component parts. For example, the control of the water flow is done by replaceable, yet durable, cartridges or arrangement of seals that allow water flow when the holes or ports are lined up in the proper configuration.

Belle Foret’s new apron front sinks blend style with the functionality and durability required for today’s working kitchen. They are constructed of Fireclay, which is denser and much heavier than vitreous china. Furthermore, pairing their sinks with your kitchen’s décor and appliances is made easier as most of their fireclay sinks are now offered in bisque as well as standard white.

Toilet Day: The Toilet's Time To Shine

National Toilet Day takes place on November 10. In honor of this momentous occasion, we at the Shop 4 Classics Old House Blog bring you some toilet fun facts to ponder on your next visit to the restroom.

Other terms for the toilet include commode, water closet, the john, the throne, the can, the loo (British), the latrine (military), the potty (juvenile), and the head (nautical).

Sir John Harrington is credited with inventing the flushing toilet and is the inspiration for the term "the john".

Despite popular belief, Sir Thomas Crapper did not invent the toilet. Furthermore, Sir Thomas Crapper was never knighted and, therefore, is not officially a Sir. While researching this piece, I tried to speak with a Crapper about their undeserved family legacy but could not find one in the local white pages. Perhaps the Crappers prefer to remain unlisted.

A recent survey by the appliance company Amana found that only 7% of consumers say they can not live without a bathroom. The other 93% are severely constipated.

I once gave a padded toilet seat to one of my best friends as a wedding gift. It was a joke inspired by how he spent much of his bachelor party. The padded toilet seat is now a family heirloom that has traveled with the family and, to my knowledge, still serves my friend today--although we do not discuss this frequently.

The average person spends 3 years of their life sitting on the toilet. Makes you wish you had a padded toilet seat.

Toilets in boats were originally placed at the front of the boat; which was called the head. Hence, the source of the term "the head".

One of the most memorable scenes in "Christmas Vacation" involves the toilet in Cousin Eddy's RV. It was...um...full. It happens. It happened on a rented houseboat on a weekend at the Lake of the Ozarks to some friends and me. The incident was blamed on "bad carrots" by literally a boatload of engineers.

National Toilet Day is November 10. World Toilet Day is November 19. Apparently, the toilet is an invention so significant that it deserves two opportunities to celebrate.

While these anecdotes are presented in fun, the flushing toilet is a serious contribution to indoor plumbing. If your toilet isn't looking so sharp, consider replacing it with one of the many two piece toilets offered by Shop 4 Classics. We offer many styles with either round or elongated bowls. For a classic bath, consider a pull chain toilet from Elizabethan Classics or a pillbox toilet from Sunrise Specialty. For more modest changes, treat your toilet to a new toilet tank lever or toilet paper holder from Sign of the Crab.

Have a wonderful National Toilet Day from your friends at Shop 4 Classics!

New York State of Mind

In honor of the World Series Champion New York Yankees, we feature the Nostalgic Warehouse New York doorplate series in this space today. Much like the New York Yankees, The New York doorplate design is a classic that has been popular for over a century. Befitting of its namesake, the New York doorplate sets are sophisticated, understated, and unpretentious. Okay, so maybe that isn't exactly New York's reputation but the Yankees and the New York doorplate sets do have one more thing in common. They are both winners! And if you are not a New York fan, Shop 4 Classics offers many, many other door hardware options to choose from.

New Vintage Themed Cabinet Hardware from the John Wright Company

If you are looking for an easy fall fix-up project, consider dressing up your kitchen cabinets with stylish knobs from the John Wright Company. In addition to highly traditional designs, the John Wright Company’s collection of cabinet knobs also includes knobs with ornate designs, eye-catching hexagon shaped knobs, and very rustic odd shaped knobs. All knobs are constructed of solid cast iron and are available in unique finishes like vintage iron, aged copper and oxidized brass. Pair a distinctive John Wright designed knob with any one of their numerous finishes to arrive at a fresh look that compliments your kitchen cabinets and décor.

The Final Lesson in the Fine Art of Bronze Hardware

Well, class is over and my bronze sculpture is complete. This past Sunday, I sandblasted my sculpture to clean and open the bronze up for the application of our patinas. Patinas are chemicals that react with the surface of bronze by changing its color. This process is similar to what naturally occurs when bronze is exposed to elements over much longer periods of time.

We could choose from black, brown, and green patinas. The patinas were applied in what is referred to as a hot process, which means that the bronze was torch heated before the patinas were brushed on. A cold patina process, patina applied on unheated metal, is typically used on decorative hardware like most of Shop 4 Classics bronze vent covers. I found the hot patina process cumbersome because I had to maneuver a gas fed torch in one hand and a patina brush in the other. After the patina was applied, I scrubbed my character's arms, legs, and head to once again expose the true bronze. Similarly, true bronze hardware has what is called a “living finish” because the color of the bronze changes as it is exposed to the elements. When bronze hardware is rubbed, the patina will wear exposing the typically golden yellow bronze. Patina will rub off of frequently used bronze cabinet knobs and bronze door knobs showing the true color of bronze. For most, this wearing off of the patina is appreciated as it adds character to the knob.

Classic Grills provides a good example of how patinas can be applied to produce different looks to the same product. Classic Grills offers the same bronze vent cover grilles in black and brown patinas. Visit our Finish Tips for more information of hardware finishes.