A House unbungled
Old House Journal|January - February 2021
A couple embarks on the restoration of a diminutive house, aiming to reverse a mid-century Colonial style remodeling. Replacing one wall with a period colonnade lets light flow front to back.
REGINA COLE
A House unbungled

THIS town of 4,000 people, about 20 miles southeast of Cleveland, has the storybook name, Chagrin Falls. Before they bought this now-charming bungalow, Sam and Kathleen already lived in the neighbor-hood. “Kathleen would say, ‘That’s the house we’re going to retire in’,” Sam remembers. “She works as a registered nurse, but she should have been an interior designer. She was moving furniture around when she was eight years old, she knows what colors go with what and she has a great eye for design.” (Sam, for his part, is an emergency-room doctor.)

Kathleen’s eye had been drawn repeatedly to the little cottage surrounded by an overgrown garden. In 2006, when it went on the market, the couple bought the house and rented it out. But by 2013 they’d sold the bigger house where they’d raised their kids, and moved into the cottage, which sits in a historic district. Turns out, it was a Sears kit house, later remodeled.

This story is from the January - February 2021 edition of Old House Journal.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the January - February 2021 edition of Old House Journal.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM OLD HOUSE JOURNALView All
THE Villa RENEWED
Old House Journal

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.

time-read
2 mins  |
Renovation Lookbook 2023
walls & ceilings
Old House Journal

walls & ceilings

BY THE 1870s, the tripartite treatment was fashionable: walls divided into dado (or wainscot) below the chair rail, fill or field section, and frieze at the top of the wall.

time-read
2 mins  |
Renovation Lookbook 2023
lighting + hardware
Old House Journal

lighting + hardware

ANTIQUE, REPRODUCTION, or contemporary, lighting fixtures and lamps are among the most cost-effective ways to add drama or period style to a room.

time-read
2 mins  |
Renovation Lookbook 2023
CRAFTSMAN PATINA
Old House Journal

CRAFTSMAN PATINA

A smitten owner brings the Arts & Crafts aesthetic to a 1921 bungalow in Seattle.

time-read
2 mins  |
Renovation Lookbook 2023
furniture & decorative accessories
Old House Journal

furniture & decorative accessories

PERIOD ROOMS are the goal of a very small niche of old-house owners.

time-read
1 min  |
Renovation Lookbook 2023
wall & floor tiles
Old House Journal

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.

time-read
2 mins  |
Renovation Lookbook 2023
A TRANSCENDENT BATHROOM IN OJAI
Old House Journal

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.

time-read
1 min  |
Renovation Lookbook 2023
CRAFTSMAN DETAILS IN A KITCHEN
Old House Journal

CRAFTSMAN DETAILS IN A KITCHEN

An excellent layout and period motifs distinguish this midsize kitchen in a bungalow-era house.

time-read
2 mins  |
Renovation Lookbook 2023
home design - HOUSES HAVE A PAST - AND A FUTURE, TOO
Old House Journal

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.

time-read
2 mins  |
Renovation Lookbook 2023
a farmhouse RESCUE
Old House Journal

a farmhouse RESCUE

Using a cache of salvaged finds, the homeowner, architect, and contractor together rescued a tumbledown farmhouse in Vermont.

time-read
2 mins  |
Renovation Lookbook 2023