Steep staircases, creaky floorboards, and things that go bump in the night are status quo for 90-year-old Deb Richards, who says she's always lived with one foot in the past. Deb grew up in a historic house with parents who collected all the accoutrements to create a period interior. After she married, she raised her children in a 1737 Connecticut house. After her husband's death 35 years ago, Richards didn't think twice about moving to the coast in northern New England.
She wanted to live in a historic district. Torn between this and another First Period house, she made a practical decision. The three-storey house that she refers to as "not-exactly-center-chimney" offered ample parking and boasted two driveways and a garage. Most importantly, it was not a fixer-upper. In fact, the house had been sensitively renovated by its previous owner, who updated plumbing and electricity while conserving historic elements. Then there was the price: $12,000.
AN AUTHENTIC INTERIOR
Woodwork is original in the Georgian-era house. Windows even retain pocket shutters; hidden inside the walls, they car be pulled across the window in frigid weather. The wood-body, wire-arm chandelier burning candles is quite old.
This story is from the July - August 2023 edition of Old House Journal.
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This story is from the July - August 2023 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
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.
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.
CRAFTSMAN PATINA
A smitten owner brings the Arts & Crafts aesthetic to a 1921 bungalow in Seattle.
furniture & decorative accessories
PERIOD ROOMS are the goal of a very small niche of old-house owners.
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.