When you're trying to replicate period details in your kitchen, house museums offer a wealth of sleuthing opportunities. Old-House Journal March/April 2009
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Editor’s Note
Anyone who’s ever tackled even a simple restoration project knows how many choices are involved: Recreate the wood’s original finish, or preserve the one that’s been worn and warmed through years of use? Patch the tile, or try to match it? Strip the wallpaper, or save it at all costs? When it comes to working on kitchens, the decisions can be especially overwhelming. Do you return the space to its original appearance, its initial “modernization,” or somewhere in between? And how do you narrow down your choices from today’s abundant selections? Kitchens are often one of the hardest rooms to work on because there are so many materials available and so many possible directions to pursue. To help you through this maze of choices, we’ve devoted more than half of this issue to old-house kitchens.
In Insider, we look at kitchens from three very different houses: a high-style Arts & Crafts, a transitional Victorian, and a bungalow. In each case, the homeowners started out with a specific wish list that ended up guiding the whole project. We also explore a classic 1920s workspace and show modern products you can use to re-create its look and feel; pay another visit to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Willey house in Minneapolis, where an exacting kitchen restoration required some creativity in sourcing materials; and learn how today’s sophisticated computer software can help cook up new kitchen designs. If your kitchen wish list only involves spicing up your recipes, check out our Outside the Old House on traditional herb gardens.
On the hard-at-work front, we delve into subjects off of the beaten path. Mold may not be anyone’s favorite topic, but folks who have it will want to know how to get rid of it—contributing editor Noelle Lord tells us. And traditional fasteners may not be exciting, but they work well on a range of repairs, if you choose the right ones. If bungalows are your passion, you won’t want to miss this issue’s Old-House Living, featuring a woodwork-laden home in Texas, or Preservation Perspectives, which delivers the scoop on innovative programs at the Historic Chicago Bungalow Association.
Demetra Aposporos, Editor-in-Chief of Old-House Journal
