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The Accidental Preservationist

An unexpected journey

From Shopping

12.01.2018

Holiday Guide to Gifts that Give Back – Supporting Historic Preservation in Charleston, SC

Finding the perfect holiday gift for everybody on your list can be a challenge. To help with this endeavor, I complied this holiday gift guide – best of all, these gifts support the preservation and research work being done by three of my favorite organizations here in Charleston, SC: Drayton Hall, The Charleston Museum and…

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What is The AP?

Join me on an unexpected journey in restoration and research at the circa 1810 Simon Jude Chancognie House in Charleston, South Carolina and beyond.

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Since I will not come a caroling this year (see previous post), I decided to enjoy the @chscarolingco at @charlestonmuseum’s Joseph Manigault House - a much better option for all! #theaccidentalpreservationist

Once the scaffold goes up, there really is no turning back…. What started as a small paint stripping project in order to properly repair damage sustained to the dining room cornice during demolition of the former addition has morphed into cleaning the entire cornice. How could I possibly stop once those long obscured details were revealed? So, do not expect me to come a caroling at your door this holiday season as I will be spending some quality time on this scaffold over the next few weeks – and that is something for which you can be truly thankful as my singing is egregiously off key…. #theaccidentalpreservationist #chancogniehouse

Putting the heat gun to good use today…. Just kidding - Happy Thanksgiving! #theaccidentalpreservationist #chancogniehouse

I wonder if it was a good vintage…. Among the curious repairs to the Chancognie House, this may be my favorite - the Korbel cork in the floor of the downstairs parlor. Unlike the repairs in my previous posts, this cork will stay, but it is not an approach I will embrace for filling other holes in the floor. #theaccidentalpreservationist #chancogniehouse

The block of wood in my previous post was not the only imposter on the piazza…. Fortunately, the vast majority of the detailing survived, but a small section of bead and reel moulding had been replaced. When original details are missing, they are recreated, in this case by @unrepentantclassicist who made a small section of bead and reel to match the original. Slide to see part of the process and a comparison of the new replacement with the old - a vast improvement to say the least! #theaccidentalpreservationist #chancogniehouse

I am amazed at the details that I notice after living here for years – or in this case, the detail that I did not notice. Admittedly, it is hard to see from the ground and I do not usually hang off of the second story of my piazza, but now that I have seen it, I cannot unsee it – that one modillion on the cornice of the piazza that was replaced with a block of wood. Slide to see before and after pictures of the real modillions and the imposter. Rest assured that a proper replacement will be forthcoming. #theaccidentalpreservationist #chancogniehouse

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Putting the heat gun to good use today…. Just kidding - Happy Thanksgiving! #theaccidentalpreservationist #chancogniehouse