Hardware & Handles
Soaking Old Hardware in Vinegar
I pulled every hinge and pull off the built-in cabinet in the dining room last spring, laid them out on an old towel on the kitchen counter, and could not...
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Author · Noelle Kirkbride
I set out to renovate a small 1930s house and got as far as the hallway, because I kept picking things up and turning them over. Little Home Details is the record of that: hardware, ceramics, baskets, found objects, held for longer than they probably deserve.
Letters in Handwriting I Had to Learn to Read
Letters from a grandfather written in a cramped, looping hand that took an hour to read at first, and what was learned…
A Dollar’s Worth of Yardsticks at the Swap Meet
They were bundled with a rubber band that had gone brittle and snapped the moment I picked them up, seven wooden yardsticks…
Leaning Frames and the Marks They Leave
The first frame I ever leaned instead of hung was a plain black metal one, holding a photograph of my sister at…
The Slow Fade of a Dried Lavender Bundle
The lavender came from a farm stand on the way back from my aunt's house in July, tied with plain kitchen string,…
The One Plate That Doesn’t Match
We own eight dinner plates that came as a set, cream colored with a thin gray line near the rim, bought together…
The Pitcher That Stopped Being a Pitcher
A ceramic pitcher bought for lemonade migrated upstairs during a move and never came back down, gradually becoming a catch-all for hair…
The Wire Egg Basket That Rode Home in the Passenger Seat
It rode home in the passenger seat because I did not trust it in the trunk, which tells you more about how…
The Doorknob Worn Smooth
The glass doorknob on the bedroom at the end of the hall came with the house, original as far as anyone can…
What the Candle Leaves Behind After It Goes Out
I blew out the candle on the side table around nine and forgot about it until the next morning, when the smell…