Syroco

Before and  After Project

Syroco has been around for a long time...and I love it.  Well, maybe I don't love it in it's natural state...but...well, wait a minute, I want to tell you all about Syroco first.  The Syracuse Ornamental Company, known as Syroco, was an American manufacturing company based in Syracuse, New York. They were best known for their molded wood-pulp products that resembled hand-carving.  Founded in 
Syracuse, New York in 1890 by immigrant Adolph Holstein, the Syracuse Ornamental Company (Syroco) specialized in decorative wood carving, especially for the local residential market. Products included fireplace mantelpieces and other types of interior decoration popular in late Victorian homes.

To meet increasing market demand and sales opportunities Holstein developed a material looked and felt like wood but that which could be shaped, allowing multiple pieces to be produced through a molding process. The new product, which combined wood pulp brought from the Adirondacks with flour as a binder and other materials to give it strength, was extruded and then cut to fit compression molds, which had were made from original carvings in real wood.

The process favored shallow molds with little undercutting, and this served well for the creation of a wide variety of "carved" relief work to be applied to different sorts of flat surfaces such as walls, furniture and caskets. Production of this new molded product, known as SyrocoWood, was the mainstay of the company's production through the 1940s. The finished material could be smoothed and varnished to look like wood, or it could be painted. Sales catalogues from the early 1900s through the 1920s offer hundreds of varieties of moldings, capitals, brackets, volutes, and reliefs of vases, garlands, cartouches, scrollwork, and other details in a variety of styles.

Syroco operated from a large factory complex on 581 South Clinton Street in Syracuse acquired from Smith Corona Typewriter Company. The company remained in the hands of the Holstein family for three generations, with some of Adolph's children and grandchildren taking over management and sales positions. At its peak, about 400 workers were employed at the plant.

By the 1930s the company had also developed an extensive line of gift and novelty items made of "SyrocoWood" and also "Woodite," a combination of wood flour and polymer. In the 1960s the company began to use injection molding for some of its products, but did not entirely abandon its old processes.



Syroco added more lines of injection molded plastics when a new plant was opened in nearby Baldwinsville in 1963 which was entirely geared to plastics production, especially PVCs and polystyrene. The company began to use plastic in new "modern" designs and new forms for clocks, mirrors, tables and a range of household items. In 1968-1969 the company launched its "Lady Syroco" home products. Beginning in 1986 Syroco produced a popular line of lawn furniture.  In 1965 the company was bought by Rexall Drug and Chemical Company (which soon changed its name to Dart Industries). Dart owned Tupperware, from which Syroco gained more knowledge of injection molding. Syroco was purchased by the Syratech Corporation of Boston in 1986 which expanded its patio furniture production. In 1995 Syratech sold Syroco to Marley PLC of Sevenoaks, England, and in 2004 Syroco was purchased by Vassallo Industries of Puerto Rico which closed the plant in 2007. In April 2010 Tessy Plastics purchased the 270,000 square foot Syroco plant to be used for storage and distribution. 

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Now...on to my Before & After Project

Here is a set of Wall Decorations made of Syroco that I bought at an estate sale.

I love the urn shaped holder on the shelf...and I love the scroll work and all of the pretty flowers.  Each one measures approximately 23 1/4"" in length and about 5 1/2-6" wide...so they are nice sized.

I bought them with an idea in mind.  

These decorations were painted black...any kind of paint will do, but I had a can of black spray paint at hand.  Two coats later and some drying time...they were nearing completion.

The real change came with the addition of Rub 'n Buff, something that I've used for years.  You rub it on with your fingers (gloved) and it instantly changes how your piece looks.  What is Rub 'n Buff?

Amaco Rub 'n Buff Metallic Finishes are perfect for decorating or antiquing wood, plaster, pottery, metal, leather or gessoed surfaces.  Rub on and buff to a beautiful luster.  For hard-to-reach areas, thin with turpentine and apply with a brush.  Colors can be blended.  Each tube contains 1/2 oz (15 ml), enough to cover up to 20 square feet.  It is available in a number of different colors and I got mine at dickblick.com

I used only 3 different colors - Ruby, Emerald and Warm Gold - to create this new look!  The Wall Decorations now hang in my newly decorated Great Room.  I just love them, what do you think?

Close Up

My Kitchen - The Old & The New - Make-over

It's been a while since my last post...although I have started a few balls rolling, I still don't have any definitive answers as to what I will end up doing...with my home.  You can read the post where I talked about Things Never Staying the Same HERE. 

Right now, though, I want to share some photos from 2 years ago...Christmas 2016 in my Kitchen, Sitting Room {dining room} and Exterior of my home.  Then I will show you lots of photos of the way it looks NOW, since the Make-Over!

My Home Office...Make-Over 2017

Before I show you my Office as it looks now, Fall 2017, I thought I'd share a photo and the link to my post about my Office...

Office Fall 2016

See all the Pink?  The "pretties" and lace curtains...even some French items?

Change

Come on in and sit down with me, I have a Blog Story to share with you - while it involves Change, it has a beautiful Fairy Blog Mother involved, too! 

Have you noticed the changes I've been making throughout the month of January, here on my Blog? I created my Banner and everything you see...all the little "pretties" and all!  And now, I'm finally finished.  I'm not one...
for "settling" until everything feels right and comfy to me.  Do you do that too?  It's kind of like fluffling the pillows on the sofa!!

Besides the big name change that came on New Years Eve...from The Comfort of a Safe Place to Jan's Place...I've done alot of editing and rearranging.  So, I thought I would share some things with you today.

I hope you all know Linda from Life and Linda - if you don't, stop by and visit her.  She is full of great Blog information, beautiful Tablescapes and Decorating Ideas too...plus alot more.

The home of the Bestest Fairy Blog Mother of them all - LINDA! 

I haven't had Linda re-do my Blog...or even make me a Banner...but I love her work and think very highly of all that she does...I just LOVE doing my own.  But Linda helped me with a huge problem.  I got my blog all set up - new Banner and everything in place, but I couldn't get the Date or Comments or labels onto my individual posts and I really worked at correcting it...then finally shouted out to Linda.  The Fairy Blog Mother came to my rescue.  Thanks Linda!  In no time she had it all working again.

She does wonderful work.  She also designs blogs!  Some of the most popular Blogs that I visit, have Blog "outfits", designed by her.  Stop by and check it out.

While she worked on my Blog problem, she left me with an extra little something - {originally called "Sitemap"}, which I have renamed ARCHIVES.

My Navigation Bar, that you will see under my Banner at the top of my Blog isn't fancy, but it's a wealth of information!

From left to right...is the...

Home Button - will take you back to the main page of my Blog

About Me - which you can read and learn a bit more about me
 Archives Button - shows you a list of all Posts, by Category of the label I use on them.  It makes it so easy to find something you're looking for on my blog

Contact Me - there is a form for you to fill in, with all the information needed to send a private message to me
Open House Tours - all of my posts of Homes For Sale and their Tours
Recipes Button - takes you to My ReciPage - which is full of my (and a few friends' recipes), complete with a photo and directions and the capability of printing each recipe for yourself.

Tutorials Button - there are some beautiful tutorials listed there, with the link to the blogger who made them

Go ahead and click on them and find out for yourself how much information is there!

And then of course, a Link/Photo to my Fairy Blog Mothers' Blog.  

Stop by and visit Linda!

I hope this little tour around my Blog will help you find things easier and make your visit even more enjoyable. 

Black Armoire

My Display Window

I love how my Display Window has taken shape.  It's in my Office, in the top part of the Armoire {doors have been removed} and when the Glass French Doors to the office are open almost all the way, it looks exactly like this from just outside the office...from my Living Room/Great Room.  It's not a large
area - maybe 34" wide and 36" high...maybe.  In the back of the opening, I tacked up a piece of Minky Fleece in a pink leopard print and layered it with a pretty oval lace doily {just pinned onto the leopard fabric}.  On the bottom, I have vintage crocheted doilies...Perfect!  It gets changed quite frequently.  It's easy enough to do...it hardly takes any time at all...and just dresses up that corner of the office.

On the right side, I've added another doily and a pretty hanging pillow.

Inside, I've included Pretty Boxes, a Clock and some of my Handmade Jewelry...and a lamp for soft lighting.

On the left side, I've hung a metal Painted Plaque and surrounded it with more of my Jewelry. 

For softness, I've added a Bunny Rabbit, with her baby.  I just love her hat and Rose.

Another Rabbit in the other corner, accompanied by a precious little Teddy Bear.

A close-up of the pretty Hanging Pillow.

This Armoire has always been black and originally it was purchased with a Black Bed and Nightstand for the Guest Room.  When we decided to make the Guest Room into a Den, it was used as extra storage and then finally, after I got rid of the TV stand, itwas used to hold the TV.  It had doors on it, too...along with four drawers {only two are visible} at the bottom.  After using it for the TV with the doors on it {which neither were pocket doors nor folded all the way back to open} I decided to remove the doors completely.

In November, I moved the Armoire into a niche in my office, behind the door.  Then, I decorated it...and I love how it turned out.  It adds some light and in that corner of the room - next to a closet and behind the french doors.

On top, there is a Hat Box, with none other than more Leopard Print and Roses.

Hope you've enjoyed seeing what I've done with My Armoire.  What have you done with pieces of furniture in your home to turn them into a display area...with storage?

A Bit of Everything!

Willis Graves Bed Breakfast Inn
Being at the Burlington's was so peaceful and restful.  I took a wonderful whirlpool bath, then a steam shower, followed by a massage.  It nearly put me to sleep.  Follow along below and join the Tea Party - there are some delicious Desserts.  You can also read about the Willis Graves B&B HERE...

Taking my TeaCup, Saucer and TeaPot with us is something I almost always do, because it just makes the time more special.  And sharing it with everyone in my Tea Party Post, really was alot of fun.

Our Luncheon was so delicious!

And I loved showing you how I blinged these pretty shades all up to go on a NEW BRONZE Chandelier!  You can see more of that post HERE.

Chandelier

This is a Before & After Post of My Dining Room Chandelier.  Our very first chandelier, it came with the house when we had it built...and supposedly was an UPGRADE.   It was round metal - Bronze - curved and had some small chain hanging from the top to each arm.  That's it.  Here's a picture of it hanging in our Master Bathroom with shades I added.  It even seemed too...

small for the space there...let alone over a Dining Room table!

To give you some perspective here...the window on the left measures 36" wide.  The Chandelier after that one, was one I picked up for $9.00 on Clearance at Lowe's.  I spray painted it Bronze, from a yellow/gold color and it worked.........for a while.  (It was what I could afford at the time, shortly after moving in.)

Then...are you ready?

Another Chandelier.  Full of Crystals and Bling.  

 It just seemed to fade into the background at times...and then hid "pretties" in the background too.

I eventually took the biggest ball of bling at the bottom off.  I didn't like it.  It helped...but NO, NOT enough!

It again...worked for a while.  It just didn't feel right!

So...eventually, even that chandelier went away.

What came next, you ask?

Well, some of you may have noticed something NEW on my Blog Banner...that's why I'm posting about it today, Monday - instead of having my HOME TOUR.  Tomorrow I will be posting my Home Tour.  You won't want to miss it...it's a Mansion!  And it's in Wisconsin!

OK...here's the NEW Chandelier...

5 Lights

Bronze

Alot Bigger

Fits better over the Dining Room Table

And it doesn't obstruct the view as much

This is the photo from the Website where I purchased it - LAMPSUSA.com

Here it is...hanging in my Dining Room

I really LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it...the size is right...the color is right

and

I have an idea that will take it over the top...making it beautiful!!

I bought 5 Animal Print Chandelier Shades, covered in Satin...very reasonably priced on eBAY!

I added those to the chandelier...hmmmmmmmmmmm....

Great idea in the making!

This is what the shades look like lit up!  Pretty...and did I mention I LOVE Animal (Leopard) Print?  Yes, I do!!

I had a thought...

I knew I had some of these "pretties"

in my stash...not enough?  Oh no...

I was still able to order more!!

They arrived so quickly too!

Then some pretty Waverly Trim!!

This one is the same on both sides of the trim...

The Waverly trim above is Scalloped on one side.

I started hot gluing the trim without the scallop to the inside of the shade...making sure it slightly overlapped the white edge of the shade.  I didn't want to be sitting at the table and being able to see that white "edge" of the shade when looking up at the Chandelier.

Then...on the outside, I hot glued the Scalloped trim, the same way...making sure that the spaces in between the scallops covered the shade edge, thus allowing the scallops to hang below the edge of the shade.

After I glued on the "pretties", again with Hot Glue...the pearl trim hung in between the Scallops on the trim.

This is the Pretty  Addition - a 3-Roses with Leaves and a Pearl Dangle Applique..just hot glued on to the top of the scalloped Trim - in between each scallop, so the pearl hangs in between the scallops.

Here's the Finished Shade - see all of the pretty texture in between the Appliques?

Are you Ready?

Here is the Chandelier with all the pretty shades on it.  I had to take the photos without any sun...cloudy days persist.  But...the Dining Room windows face north...so it tends to be a bit darker in there most days.  I left the lights off in these photos because with them on the trim is not so noticeable.  And since I went to all the trouble enhancing these shades, I wanted you to see them!  This certainly cheers up the Dining Room...along with other things I've been busy doing since you saw the Dining Room last (saving that for another post - later - when the project is complete)!

This is the Clip to attach the shade to the bulb...so make sure you select the right kind of bulb so these shades sit properly and don't tip over. Use a torpedo shaped bulb, like the one in the next photo - very rounded...NICE!

Here is the Chandelier with the lights turned on...and these are only 40watt bulbs...ENHANCE bulbs.

I certainly think I found

MY CHANDELIER!!

I'm very pleased with how these shades turned out and how the entire chandelier looks in the room.  I just took my time doing the shades...and in less than 5 hours (with a couple of interruptions in between), I had all 5 of them finished.  I didn't cut the trims until I was ready to hot glue the last bit of the trim, to prevent unraveling.  Then I just glued the edges down...and pressed them together.  (No overlap at all) 

For the Roses, I put down a line of hot glue ON THE BACK OF THE ROSES (from side to side, not quite to the edges, to prevent the glue from oozing out) and making sure I quickly had them exactly where I wanted them, pressed the roses onto the shade.

These hardback shades, covered with satin measured 6"x5"x3".

So, what do you think?  Any great ideas coming to your mind after viewing this?

Have fun creating!!