Dear PoPville – Window/Door Appliques?

“Dear PoPville,

I recently bought my very first home, in Trinidad. I’ve been there two months, and so far I love it! The house is a very modest, small rowhouse, with a new-ish brick facade someone put up over the original, clapboard front. (Some other houses on the row have also been bricked, some are still clapboard.) Whoever did my facade did it very simply, without even little brick frames or details around the windows. I see all those really neat Victorian-era brick homes with the lovely wooden appliques over the doors and windows and think, “Hey, that’s something simple and affordable I could do to spruce up my place a little!”

So, what I’m wondering: is it really a simple and easy job to put up these kind of decorations? I’ve found several sites that sell door surrounds, plinths, and window trim, but they all look so modern and generic. Are there any architectural-reclaim-type businesses around that might actually have some of those gorgeous Victorian decorations, or are those almost always destroyed during demo/renovations? Is this something I could do on my own with a ladder and a brick drill bit? If not, are there any contractors that readers would recommend for this kind of work? Any info would be most welcome. Thanks!”