Old House Journal

Find guidance on buying, renovating, budgeting, and decorating. It’s all about keeping the character while upgrading for modern comfort and your own style. For prospective and recent homebuyers -- whether your house is Victorian or Mid-century Modern. Inside: • Kitchen/bath renos • When to DIY (and not!) • Inspiring house tours • Using vintage lighting • Pantry ideas • Modern farmhouses • Curb appeal upgrades • Choosing paint colors • Picket fence styles • Repairing floorboards • How to wallpaper … and lots more

CONTRIBUTORS

Old House Journal

Make a Statement • We found some signature pieces that offer style with history.

Bright and Early • From the earliest days of America, these designs remain fresh.

Gothic Overtones • Decorative bargeboards, crenellation, roof cresting, and steep verticals: clues to Gothic Revival style.

BEST BATH FOR A FLAPPER GIRL • Our bathroom was a glimpse into the more glamorous past of our old house. Though leaks had damaged it, restoration clues were abundant.

DESIGN

Tiled with Personality • ARTISANAL BEAUTY

Maine Addition • Elegant in its simplicity, the kitchen occupies an addition to a 1760s Cape.

RESTORE

RESTORE A WOOD WINDOW SASH • When repairs are in order, a steam box, an easel, and two-part epoxy are your best friends. The work is simple, if tedious, but your reward is original window sash that works the way it was designed to and that will last for decades to come.

steam THE SASH • to remove the glass

reinstall THE GLASS • After coating the sash with oil-based primer, it’s time to reinstall the glass, bedding it in glazing putty. Glazing putty is linseed oil and chalk, so it’s helpful to have some extra chalk on hand to help make the putty workable and for cleanup. Any calcium-carbonate chalk, such as that used for lines on athletic fields, will work. You can find it at most hardware stores.

WINDOW CARE

Fabulous Finish for an Exterior Door • Beautify a wood door with dye, stain, varnish, and a commitment to doing the process right.

ASK OHJ

Mortar for Old Masonry • There’s no one-size-fitsall mix. Choosing the right mortar depends on the age, material, and condition of the masonry.

Regarding Porch Details • Given a reliance on chemically treated lumber, synthetics, and composite materials, some of the basic “bestpractice” construction details are ignored. These are the tried-and-true details that shed water, mediate humidity and weathering, and generally lend longevity. To determine the assembly of individual elements, imagine a drop of water falling from its highest point to the ground. On its way, it should not encounter any flat, level surface. Nor should it find up-facing joints (flooring excepted). Examples: Make sure handrail, balusters, and toe rail are sloped or chamfered to shed water. Be sure the deck is pitched (about ¼ inch per foot), again to shed rainwater. Such considerations eliminate many issues that plague porches and lead to rot.

INSPIRE

ON A Victorian High • Inspired by their penchant for touring 19th-century house museums, a couple went looking for a spectacular mansion.

visits Victorian • When Carla Minosh and Tom Belles go on vacation, they include tours of house museums. These, they say, especially influenced and inspired them:

mastery of RESTRAINT • A CHARMING DWELLING, ONE OF THREE ROW HOUSES BUILT IN 1790, IS BROUGHT BACK TO LIGHT AND LIFE.

Brookside evolved • A Colonial-era house expanded in the 1830s was restored by the removal of boxy 20th-century add-ons. The old dairy barn became a complementary living space.

ONCE A DAIRY BARN

Unmuddling!