CATEGORIES

Navigating the Lumberyard - Here's some lumber lingo you should know before you venture into a lumberyard.

Here's some lumber lingo you should know before you venture into a lumberyard. Almost everyone fixing an old house will end up at a lumberyard-whether it's a local supplier or the organized aisles of a big-box home-improvement store.

a farmhouse renewed

Sensitive renovations and restoration work preserved a house that dates to 1799.

AN OVERVIEW OF METAL ROOFING

METAL ROOFS ARE RESURGENT, FOR GOOD REASONS.

ENDURING BEAUTY IN WALLS of STONE

Now back in the family who had been here since 1830, the old farmhouse is again ready for generations to come. Additions dating to 1840 and the 1950s were preserved.

ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS COME TO LIFE

Owners and their designer celebrate the unique features of a 1912 Arts & Crafts Tudor.

For a Wet Basement Wall

If there's problem common to old houses, it's a wet basement. I'm not talking about occasional flooding, but rather a basement that apparently seeps or leaks after even a rain shower or during snowmelt. Several approaches are available; sustainable solutions will get to the root of the problem.

Patching a Plaster Wall

Fix a hole in the wall with a few common tools and some drywall supplies. Practice your technique!

Roofing & Siding

Make note of these historical and unusual materials for the building envelope.

The Riddle of the water

When water incursion happens, the roof isn't necessarily the culprit. Maybe snaking a drain line, or clearing debris from a clogged gutter, temporarily will stem a leak. But a recurring problem usually means other forces are at work. It takes persistence-and a team with the right skills and patience—to identify the source and apply a solution.

Light-filled Craftsman Redo

For a dark kitchen in a 1914 Illinois house, the trick was anchoring white expanses with woodsy warmth.

Sun Parlors & other bright spaces

Is there anything better than a New England sunroom in January? Big windows invite what daylight is available, your relief from the gloom. Plants survive the winter. If the room is insulated and weatherstripped and the floor is masonry or tile, passive solar gain radiates through the house. Sunrooms are, however, popular from Seattle to Miami. Architectural devices for bringing sunlight (and often ventilation) into a house include the orangeries and conservatories of the Victorian era, porches later enclosed to extend the season, and even purpose-built \"sun parlors,\" especially after 1915 or so. Here's a glimpse of these gracious amenities, with hints on furnishing, whether in porch or more elegant parlor mode.

JUICY 1920S BATHROOM REVIVAL

Serial restorers redesign their tired baths in period style, with colorful tile and Art Deco touches.

The Unabashed Maximalist- This home at the top of a San Francisco row house is a kaleidoscope of colors and textures. Every piece has a story to tell.

This home at the top of a San Francisco row house is a kaleidoscope of colors and textures. Every piece has a story to tell.

Beat the heat - In this time of weather extremes and power disruptions, it's important to learn from the past as we think about the future.

In this time of weather extremes and power disruptions, it's important to learn from the past as we think about the future.

A 1980s CONDO GOES RETRO VINTAGE

We needed the amenities of our modern condominium complex-but that didn't stop us from completely transforming it, in two period styles!

art space

CREATIVE PROBLEMSOLVING BRINGS FINESSE TO A MINNEAPOLIS ROW HOUSE GUTTED IN 1979, BLENDING HISTORIC ELEMENTS AND MODERN USE IN 1200 SQUARE FEET.

A SUMMER RETREAT PRESERVED in the Catskill Mountains

Theatrical and yet as cozy as a camp, the Victorian house that sat vacant for a decade was remarkably intact.

Common Door Problems

An introduction for do-it-yourselfers to reading a balky door and taking steps to fix it

Rescuing Old Furniture By Refinishing

Sometimes the finish is just too far gone and the old piece demands a refresh to make it attractive and usable. Here's one success story.

Eastlake Galley

The 1886 house is a Victorian Revival jewel box, all in just 1700 square feet.

Hideaway Bed Ideas, ca. 1930

This page comes from the catalog \"More Home in Less Space,\" published by the original Murphy Door Bed Company.

BUNKS & built-in beds

Bunk beds and bedroom built-ins have lots of history-and they're not just for kids.

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.