Cottage Renovation: Hardware Restoration

So much going on lately, but I did want to share a before shot of the hardware from our original doors and an after shot once they were cleaned up. My grandmother and I worked hard one day to get all of the original, old hardware off the doors (which is NOT easy after almost 100 years of paint coated over top of them). I used a trick I learned from watching The Rehab Addict, Nicole Curtis, on HGTV. After I removed them from the doors I kept them separated by door and places them in a crock pot of hot water. No chemicals, just boiling water. And it worked! I did have to scrub quite a bit, but it still came off easier than trying to scrape it off.

Pretty neat, and a great way to reuse some of the original pieces to the house and keep it's character!