Three things to keep in an old building if you have it- or add if you don’t!

Lately it feels like I can’t go into any business or old building without noticing all the little things that make it unique. Or all the little things that made it unique. Thank goodness we have come around to appreciating classic old details and trying to bring them back into places that, let’s face it, were never meant to feel new anyway! Here’s three things that were once quick to be updated but now stand the test of time.

Old Glass

This Third Ward Milwaukee building (above) still has some of the original glass windows. Besides buying stain glass or reclaimed factory windows, anything with this much texture and charm is hard to come by. Keep it if you have it- order a new windows with an applied mullion if you don’t.

Black and White Floors

Now, I’m normally an original stained, scraped and gouged hardwood floor gal myself, but candy and ice cream shops get instant old building cred when they roll out the checkerboard floors. They don’t have to be old for this to work, they just need to be paired with warm woods and chunky trims and moldings.

Iola Mills pictured above and Beerntsen’s in Manitowac below.

Wood Beams

Another Third Ward repurposed factory building shows off very well preserved wood beams while The Stock Peddler (below) enjoys the warmth of their original structure.

Even The Living Room in Clintonville found a creative way to honor the beams left behind in the walls of their cozy coffee shop without changing their vibe to industrial.

Bonus

This is all just a warm up to the upcoming Small Business Summer Series. I love seeing how these downtown, main street America buildings are getting a second life While I think of this Merrill brewery (below) as more of a Fall Travel Series destination, my recent lunch at a former bank turned restaurant in Clintonville had me thinking about authentic stone facades other than brick (although you can also never go wrong with natural brick!)

Hopefully I will be able to share more details on these business and others that are favoring a granite boulder look. It might just be the next trend we didn’t even know we needed! Stay tuned!!!