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What if the Industrial Age happened at the same time as the Information Age? That’s one of the questions Steampunk tries to answer. From its origins as a form of speculative fiction, Steampunk has spawned a new category of Victorian-themed design. As a living laboratory for that trend, Bruce and Melanie Rosenbaum’s restored 1901 Victorian/Craftsman home in Sharon, Mass., demonstrates ingenious ways that old items can be given new life, instead of being discarded.


Back to the Future
When the Rosenbaums bought the home in 2001, their intent was simply to restore its architectural beauty (see “Restoration Project,” page 18). However, as antique enthusiasts they also liked finding ways to make period items serve contemporary lifestyles. When remodeling their kitchen, for instance, they used an antique printers desk for the kitchen island and found someone to put a Miele glass cooktop in a 110-year-old Mott’s Defiance wood-fired stove. But they didn’t know that what they were doing had a name. “Then someone came by and told us we were Steampunking,” says Bruce Rosenbaum. “Our reaction was ‘Steam what?’”


That knowledge was motivation to continue the Steampunk theme. The result is a home tastefully outfitted with salvaged items, many of which have been infused with modern technologies.


They have also since started two new businesses: Steampuffin.com, a website that sells Steampunk fixtures, and ModVic, a design firm that specializes in adding Steampunk touches to homes.


They are still in the negotiating stage with their first design clients, but the clients they’re talking with include a witch museum in Salem, Mass., an Ohio homeowner who wants to Steampunk an 1894 firehouse that he lives in, and the head designer of a large footwear company who wants a Steampunk room in his New York apartment.


The Rosenbaums see these clients as early adopters and believe that the next few years will see broad popular interest. Some leading industry watchers agree; for instance, the December/January issue of House Beautiful named Steampunk as one of the four major design trends to watch in 2011. The reason for this optimism isn’t hard to see. Steampunk is a winning combination of green building’s commitment to recycling with a growing interest in antiques.


 


Cambria Quartz Engineered Stone countertops www.cambriausa.com


Existing cabinet boxes with new black-stained cherry fronts


Dimmer-controlled recessed low-voltage lighting


Elmira French door refrigerator and microwave oven with 1891-style doors

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