Crafting Colonial Reproductions

Knife Boxes

Mirrors

Oven Peel

Pegboards

factory

Thank you for visiting our workshop. There's a lot of information here, so feel free to click on a link to go directly to the area you're most interested in. On this page we will:

Describe the construction of our pieces

Provide information about custom orders

Tell you how to request photographs,color samples, or a color brochure of the work.

Give a fuller description of our colors

Construction Overview:

We construct all of our pieces primarily from white pine. Joinery is accomplished through the traditional country craftsman's use of basic butt and rabitted joints. All pieces are glued and fastened with square-cut nails and pegs. Finishing is accomplished through a ten-step process of hand-painting, distressing, and hand-rubbing a final application of a high-quality furniture varnish. All the steps of building and finishing the Replitiques pieces are described in our construction details.

Why pine? There is something special about pine, beyond its traditional use in colonial furniture construction. Pine is on friendly terms with open fires, with wrought-iron hinges, with hewn beams, with rough-plastered walls and wide plank flooring painted pumpkin yellow. All these speak the same language: warmth, comfort, and our historical heritage.

The pieces we make are not "primitive" as that genre is usually defined: that is, they don't appear is if they were rescued from a burned-out barn! Rather, they are finished to duplicate what they may have looked like in actual use a century or more ago. The paint is still relatively fresh-looking although it bears signs of obvious use. Painted finishes are worn and cracked as if from handling and the effects of moisture. Stained finishes glow with an aged patina.

All pieces are signed and dated by Ron Brougher Ron in shop . We believe that you will treasure these pieces for years to come. In fact, Replitiques' products meet many of the criteria that respected art critics believe could make them tomorrow's valued antiques. By the way, Ron's work has been featured in a number of museum shops, including the Grand Rapids Art Museum and the museum at St. Louis's Gateway Arch museum. One of his clocks was featured in in an exhibit at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center that is designed to show how people lived at the time of Lewis and Clark's expedition. The History Channel used one of Ron's salt boxes in their November 2004 "Back to the Blueprint" show to help illustrate the design used by "salt box" houses. And of course, the set designers for The War of the Worlds (an upcoming Steven Spielberg/Tom Cruise production) selected four of the Replitiques products to help outfit a kitchen in the movie. You can read about Replitiques connection with the War of the Worlds film in an article from the York Daily Record.

Custom Orders:

The dimensions of our reproductions adhere to the originals. However, we can modify them if you have a specific request. For example, we can modify the standard Salt Box dimensions to accept 4x6 file cards. A Pantry Cabinet can be adapted for use as a CD-cabinet. Please contact us for more information.

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Photographic Details:

We can send you photographs to provide more detailed examples of all of our pieces as well as a more realistic rendering of the available finishes.

Color samples: $1.00 each

Item photographs: $1.00 each

Color Brochure:$3.00 each

Please mail your request, providing your full name and address along with payment for the requested color samples or photographs to us at: Replitiques, 120 Orchard Ave., York Haven, PA 17370.

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Colors:

The paint colors are authentic and are supplied by a paint manufacturer that has been making paints since the early 1800's. Many of these paints have been used in the restored villages of Williamsburg, VA and Old Sturbridge, MA. We can also suggest Paint In America: The Colors of Historic Buildings if you're interested in learning more about historically accurate paint colors.

Here is a more-detailed description of the paint colors we use:

Colonial Blue: Grayed-out medium blue.

Amish Blue: Lighter blue with a green tint.

British Blue: Deep royal blue.

York Red: Traditional "barn red".

Newberry Red: Medium-red with salmon overtones.

Burgundy Red: Deep wine red.

Sullivan Green: A medium-green (often found on old wainscoat).

Spruce Green: Typical deep forest green.

Lancaster Yellow: Traditional mustard yellow

Cupboard White: Subtly-aged antique white. Please note: This color has been discontinued. Our "Old Whitewash" may be a good substitute for you.

Old Whitewash: Grayed-out weathered white.

Candlelight Pine: Aged warm orange-brown stain.

1776 Pine: Medium true old brown stain with gray overtones.

Chestnut Brown: A rich medium-brown aged paint.

Black: A distressed, weathered true black.

Below you may find an ad for other useful products.

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