“We first got bitten by the old-house bug back in 2002 when my husband was stationed in Oklahoma,” explains Kelly Priegnitz, a healthcare attorney. The busy careers of Kelly and her husband, Elmer,now retired from the Air Force, caused them to relocate often. In 2013, work took them from New York to Louisville, Kentucky. After spotting a handsome red brick Federal online, they “flew in, took a look and fell in love.” Within days, the old house in rural Cox’s Creek was theirs.
“We like original features and architecture, and the Samuels Home was virtually untouched.” That is, perhaps, an understatement. The ca. 1820–40 house had never been fitted with heating and air conditioning, the cellar floor was mud, and there was just one bathroom for five bedrooms. With five boys (including triplets), hectic careers, and frequent moves, this was a couple who could handle a challenge! The important thing for Kelly and Elmer was that the house remained extraordinarily intact. Floor plan, hardwood floors, woodwork, seven fireplaces, grain painting and marbling, hardware— all preserved. It sits proudly on a couple of wooded acres in bucolic rural Kentucky, surrounded by horse pastures.
This story is from the March - April 2020 edition of Old House Journal.
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This story is from the March - April 2020 edition of Old House Journal.
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THE Villa RENEWED
This house in Greene County, New York, has been faithfully restored, from its foundation and structure to exterior elements and trim inside.
walls & ceilings
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lighting + hardware
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CRAFTSMAN PATINA
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furniture & decorative accessories
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wall & floor tiles
TODAY WE FIND TILE from small studios . . . carved relief tiles, subway tile and mosaics, glazes matte and iridescent . . . plus encaustics and California revivals.
A TRANSCENDENT BATHROOM IN OJAI
A seamless addition allowed for this timeless primary bath, which has been re-imagined as an upgrade dating to ca. 1930.
CRAFTSMAN DETAILS IN A KITCHEN
An excellent layout and period motifs distinguish this midsize kitchen in a bungalow-era house.
home design - HOUSES HAVE A PAST - AND A FUTURE, TOO
THE BEST RENOVATIONS TOE THE LINE BETWEEN NECESSARY UPDATES AND ENOUGH SENSITIVITY TO ASSURE DESIGN INTEGRITY.
a farmhouse RESCUE
Using a cache of salvaged finds, the homeowner, architect, and contractor together rescued a tumbledown farmhouse in Vermont.