Art on a shoestring -- or lanyard
Re “Arts and Crafts by the ‘Numb3rs’ ” [Feb. 17]: We recently bought our own little slice of heaven, a 1911 bungalow in West Adams, a glowing example of the Arts and Crafts movement. Restoring and redecorating this could-be jewel to its original Arts and Crafts glory has been largely a matter of detective work.
The fireplace, for example, now brick, we discovered was once made of macaroni necklaces -- one of the most visually impressive of the arts and crafts.
The bathroom is still mostly original arts and crafts, with a beautiful floor of pipe-cleaner animals, and felt bookmarks with glitter initials all around.
What was once a wonderful old lanyard keychain has been updated, tragically, with a sink.
The parlor still has some of its original spoon puppets, but the egg-carton flowers were pulled out during an “improvement” in the 1950s, and, even more tragic, the tuna-can pincushion that would once have been the jewel of a house like this has vanished.
I’ve found, surprisingly, that any kindergarten classroom is rich in these valued treasures of our architectural past.
Come on, people.
Danno Sullivan
Los Angeles
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