Bronze hardware: Reproductions done right

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 last month, I found a fine little company that’ll help you do just that.

Whether you live 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, this South Carolina shop has been collecting antique patterns and reproducing them for customers all over the country.

They now have over 500 in stock, including this 1885 rice pattern 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 time of about eight weeks. The company also sells antique hardware, and provides restoration services.

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

In fact, the company was good enough 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