The House keeps surprising us by giving up little gems, even now as we're finishing the project. When I first discovered these porcelain knobs with the vine motif stem and keyhole, I have to admit I was really, really, really tempted to take them for my own Eastlake Victorian. What if the new owner doesn't appreciate them and paints them over again? Or, worse yet, chucks them in favor of a contempory Home Despot model. When I should have been finishing up last minute paint jobs in preparation for an Open House, I took on a four hour side project to clean as many handles as I could get to.

Ultimately I decided that what came with the house stays with the house. That's that. My personal house philosophy, especially with old homes, is that the one never really 'owns' the house...one merely guides it into it's next life. It's next life should include the few ornaments that haven't been stolen over the years.