Iron Lace

Here in Sydney there is a gorgeous architectural element that I have absolutely fallen in love with.

They call it Iron Lace.

These "terrace" style victorian houses can be found dotted all over Sydney. They date back as far as the late 1800's through to the 1920's when they started ripping them down and throwing them out in rubbish piles (that's right, I said rubbish). In the 1990's they started refurbishing them and going back to the old Victorian style, which means the lace is easier to come by. They're absolutely beautiful and so unique.

We have a house in San Francisco that we will be remodeling and moving into after we leave here and we've decided that we are going to buy some Iron Lace to put on our San Fran home. Taking a little bit of Sydney home with us =)

The problem with this is that there are SO many different styles to go through and it's not always easy to find matching panels or panels long enough.

So, the research begins.

I've been taking pics of designs I like as I see them around town.

And today we ventured out to a shop I found that buys and sells old lace panels and I've also found an iron foundry that can replicate the lace, so if we find ourselves short a few we could just have them made. I'm so excited to pick out a design and then start hunting down matching panels!