Reproducing HISTORIC Wallpapers

Wallpaper remains the quintessential room decoration. If you’re looking for a historic or specific pattern, be encouraged.

Exotic Comforts in a Master Suite

If the bedroom in your 1882 Queen Anne Victorian has a gilded ceiling, what is the bathroom like?

The Siding Question

To refresh siding on your house, look for materials close to the original in cut, grain, dimension, and appearance.

Collecting Enchantment

What if you bought a Victorian farmhouse and, endeavoring to learn about the period, became entranced? You might design Aesthetic and Rococo parlors, a Sheraton Revivaldining room, and a kitchen with Anglo–Japanese notes.

Avondale Farm AN IMAGINATIVE REBIRTH

The ca. 1735 house was disassembled and rebuilt on a new foundation, a rescued 1742 banquet hall appended to it, an addition in Greek Revival style built for the kitchen, and a Maine barn added to the property.

Chairs Become Dog Beds

A dog-loving couple create unique pet furniture.

An Artful Approach FOR A 1755 COLONIAL

Attracting the right owners through subsequent generations, this Connecticut house remains true to its period.

A UNIQUE RESCUE

This couple refurbished an “obsolete” duplex dwelling, built-in 1899 as factory-worker housing.

REMEDIES FOR STAINLESS STEEL

The best approach to refreshing a scratched stainless steel surface is to clean and polish the entire sink, using the least abrasive methods possible, plus a lot of elbow grease.

TUDOR ARTS & CRAFTS HOUSES

THE MELDING OF TWO STYLES WITH SIMILAR ROOTS, 1890–1920. By Patricia Poore

TRANSITIONAL TUDOR

A UNIQUE MIX OF TUDOR REVIVAL AND ARTS & CRAFTS DESIGN, THIS 1912 HOUSE IN PORTLAND, OREGON, REMAINED REMARKABLY INTACT.

RESILIENTS BOUNCING BACK

These floors continue to evolve, adapting recycled and natural materials for flooring that looks better and lasts longer.

A TRIO OF MODERN MASTERS

COLLECTING BRUTALIST AND MODERN PIECES 1950–1970.

Happy Kitchen for a Postwar Home

Most homebuyers would tear out a 1940s kitchen; this owner went in the opposite direction.

BENCH with a Secret

Found beadboard covers an HVAC return, providing seating and future access.

Bell Roof in Lanaudière

Two generations have contributed their talents to this picturesque house, built in 1920 and filled with old-fashioned charm: heavy beams, the ceilings, and a fieldstone fireplace.

A Modern House of stone+glass

DEFT UPDATES TO THIS 1951 SEATTLE HOUSE BROUGHT OUT ITS BEST ORIGINAL FEATURES: WALLS OF GLASS, BURNISHED WOODWORK AND BUILT-INS, CURVING GLASS BLOCK, AND MODERN ELEGANCE.

A CASE FOR PRESERVATION

A post-Civil war house in a historic district enjoys a dramatic reversal of fortune.

A Bathroom – Art Deco & Barrier Free

Kathy Adamson had very specific ideas about what she wanted for her octogenarian mother’s bathroom.

THE RESTORATION OF ancient Oaks

COMING HOME: OLD FAMILY STORIES AND LETTERS GUIDED THIS COUPLE AS THEY TOOK ON THE REFURBISHMENT OF A GRAND GREEK REVIVAL HOUSE BUILT IN 1856—BY HER THREE-TIMES GREAT-GRANDFATHER.

the UNIVERSAL HOME

For many old houses, it would be difficult and prohibitively expensive to create accessibility throughout. That doesn’t mean we should ignore the commonsense principles of Universal Design when adding on or renovating—especially when it comes to the entry, kitchen, and bath.

making their mark

LIVING IN AN OLD KENTUCKY HOUSE WITH A STORIED PAST.

Lights, Going Up!

Industrial-chic, oversize wall sconces can be made from repurposed elevator indicator lights.

FROM AWKWARD TO STYLISH

A bump-up in rear roof height, a new kitchen, and upgraded interior trim turned our charm-deficient house into a livable home.

ARTS & CRAFTS FOR 100 YEARS

The bungalow retained its original integrity, so our upgrades had to follow suit, and last.

AN AMERICAN HOUSE The Essence of Traditional Wills in Vermont

Nothing captures American tradition like the respectfully modest, perfectly proportioned houses of Royal Barry Wills, the mid-century New England firm that specialized in Colonial Revival homes and reintroduced Cape Cod style.

Keeping the Chimney Well-equipped and Safe

Liners, dampers, fire brick, and chimney caps all play protective roles in fireplace safety and comfort.

A NEIGHBORHOOD FOURSQUARE

Despite good bones, the house built in 1900“was in very poor condition,” says Aaron Pempel, who’d long wanted to restore a rundown house. “The first floor had been used as commercial office space without a kitchen or bath; the second floor was residential.”Indeed, the interior was a forlorn mash-up, made worse by the building sitting vacant. The Nike executive had discovered the abandoned house in the same Northwest Portland (Oregon) neighborhood where he and his wife, Kristen, and their son live.

Radical Restoration

After a 1960s remodeling that succeeded in changing its very style, the Craftsman house in Portland, Oregon, was virtually unrecognizable. Then the right family came along.

The Learning Curve

IT’S ONE THING TO LOVE AN OLD HOUSE, ANOTHER TO TAKE ONE ON. RESTORATION CAN BE INTIMIDATING; STILL, THE RARE SORT OF HOMEOWNER THRIVES ON THE WORK, TYPICALLY DESCRIBING THEIR CHARACTERFUL MONEY PIT AS “A FUN PROJECT.”