Friday, May 29, 2009

One final backsplash post | EDITED



Here it is with the outlet covers installed and the stove back in its cozy little cubby-hole.


Mrs. Mac asked for pictures of the cooktop on that stove.


This stove is from the first half of the 1930s and was made by the Detroit Vapor Stove Company. I bought it at a garage sale in Bangor, Wisconsin, about 10 years ago. I did not have it restored. I did have to find replacement knobs, and I had Jay Heisel make me some oven racks out of steel. My father-in-law has adjusted the burners for me a couple of times, but really there is not a whole lot that can go wrong with a stove like this.

10 comments:

Mrs. Mac said...

It keeps getting better and better. Did you have the oven/range restored?

Can we see a pic of the cook top with the covers off? Pretty please :)

Mrs. Mac said...

Aaah, you are a blessed woman to have such a great stove.

I do like my new range with the dehydrator and yeast proofing settings.

Yours fits in with your kitchen design perfectly.

wv= mindful

Aaron said...

Looks great, sis.

ChrisFlx said...

Your kitchen looks beautiful! Are you looking for anything else? I'm restoring a Victorian in St. Joseph, MO and am selling a couple of claw foot tubs.

Maria Stahl said...

Thanks for visiting, Chris! If you were closer we might be interested. We have 3 five-foot clawfoot tubs but I would love to find a longer one someday.

I got to bathe in what must have been an 8-foot clawfoot tub in an old hotel in Ireland once years ago. You could almost do laps!

ChrisFlx said...

I love the color of the exterior of your home. Nice family pic as well. I can measure my tubs. I'll also drive them North and meet you half way if you're interested in them. I'm searching for a pair of pocket doors 9½' H x 3½' W each. Are you on Facebook? My pictures are posted there.

Eddie Burkhalter said...

Hi. My wife and I just bought a vintage White Star gas stove, and it's a very nice model with a full lower cabinet. Sadly, the lower cabinet is missing one handle. Where were you able to find your replacement handles? I can't find much online about Detroit Vapor Company stoves.
Thanks,
Eddie

Maria Stahl said...

Hello Eddie! Congratulations on the find! I looked and looked for handles. I contacted all the gas stove restoration places I could find and none of them had replacement knobs. I watched eBay obsessively. Never did find anything. And then one day I was driving down the main street of our tiny little Iowa town and there was an old gas stove sitting on the curb, all rusted out and awful, really sadly mistreated - but it had all its knobs, and they were a match! The craziest thing. Anyway I asked the guy if I could buy the stove and he sold it to me for $5.

Email me pictures of an intact handle like the one you are missing and I'll keep my eyes open. maria.stahl@gmail.com.

Unknown said...

I love your kitchen! I came across your blog while looking for info on the White Star stove. Its seems that we have the same stove! I had mine removed from my Grandmother's home and it worked great but was used infrequently before she died, about 20 years ago. I am trying to clean it up and get it working again to install it in a 1905 house we are restoring.

Do you have any info on your stove at all? What did you need to do to get it working? I can't seem to find a stove restoration expert in my area so I am giving it a try myself with the help of my contractor. I am slowly taking it apart and trying to clean it up. My contractor is a bit worried that its not going to be safe but I am all in on this stove! Any info or suggestions you have will be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Kathy Klassett

Maria Stahl said...

Hello Kathy! Your contractor is probably right, it isn't going to be "safe," not without a major (expensive) overhaul. We basically took each of the burners out and cleaned it good, adjusted the thingie that regulates the amount of air that gets in, and put it back together. The pilot doesn't work, so we light ours with a fireplace lighter. When my kids were young I had a valve on the gas line at the back of the stove and turned it off at the valve when we weren't using the stove, just in case one of the kids decided to twist one of those tempting knobs. We don't have the valve anymore; however, now I have a dog who likes to try to steal the knobs off the valves and she's turned the fuel on a couple of times, little monster! I love my stove and love cooking on it with vintage cast iron.