Old-House Restoration 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.”
A 1910-1930 Kitchen
When you buy an old house, you will have to remodel the kitchen. Old houses never have enough storage space. Bachelors don’t cook. Wrong, wrong, and wrong—at least at Sconehenge, David Berman’s 1910 Shingle Style house in Plymouth, Mass.
A Victorian Enhanced
When Gerry and Shirley Fisher moved to St. Louis in 1991, they had already restored two early-20th-century homes in Oklahoma City, and they were game to take on another project.
Welcome to Old House Online!
Renovation DIY and old-house restoration, traditional styles, period kitchens, historical decorating, period gardens, from colonial and Victorian through Arts & Crafts and Mid-century Modern: all from Old-House Journal magazine and special-interest titles Old-House Interiors, New Old House, and Early Homes.
Indow Window Inserts
Enjoy modern comfort while preserving the charm of your original windows. Indow window inserts press inside your window frames without a mounting bracket to give you all the comfort and efficiency of high-end replacement windows.
Energy-Saving Window Inserts
Indow's window inserts help save energy and cut back on drafts and UV light.
A Feather Vase
This odd, abused feather vase had sat for years in the seller’s garage.
How to Diagnose (and Fix) a Door
It’s a rare door in an old house that swings effortlessly and closes shut crisply.
A Transcendent Bathroom in Ojai
A seamless addition allowed for this master bath, imagined as a ca. 1930 upgrade.
For First-time Home Buyers
What do you need to know if you're a first-time home buyer?
Cottage Style for a Kitchen
Nostalgic details belie the room’s efficiency and storage capacity.
Unmuddling a 1790 Farmhouse
A designer describes the process of rescuing a jumbled farmhouse.
Celebrating the Holidays with Antique Ornaments
An ardent collector uses antique ornaments to celebrate the past.
Queen Anne, 1874–1910
Queen Anne houses are symmetrical, medieval, and delightfully ornamental.
Unmuddling a 1790 Farmhouse
A designer describes the process of rescuing a jumbled farmhouse.
Queen Anne, 1874–1910
Queen Anne houses are symmetrical, medieval, and delightfully ornamental.
Unmuddling a Queen Anne
This hands-on couple have been reading OHJ since its newsletter days. Their forever project is an exemplary unmuddling that took them 22 years. Now the 1880s Queen Anne house is a showpiece in their New Jersey neighborhood.
Restoration of a Beaux Arts Mansion
Built in 1896, the brick and terra-cotta Beaux Arts mansion needed new systems and repairs. Most remarkable is the addition of period murals and stenciling by the current owner, herself a fine artist and accomplished seamstress—who’s worked on the house since its centennial in 1996.
Rescued Queen Anne
Neglected and then damaged by fire, a historic Queen Anne house is rescued by Indiana Landmarks.
Vermont Farmhouse
Using a cache of salvaged finds, the homeowner, architect, and contractor together rescued a tumbledown farmhouse in Vermont.
Historic Hotel Boulderado
Learn more about the historic Hotel Boulderado in one of Colorado's most beloved towns.
A Feather Vase
This odd, abused feather vase had sat for years in the seller’s garage.
How to Diagnose (and Fix) a Door
It’s a rare door in an old house that swings effortlessly and closes shut crisply.
For First-time Home Buyers
What do you need to know if you're a first-time home buyer?
Smart Upgrades for Old Houses
New products for keeping the house cleaner and tighter.
Life in a Victorian-era Brownstone
Lessons for living lightly in a historic Victorian-era brownstone restored.
DIY Phone Niche
A phone niche is useful today for keys, tablet—or telephone.
Smart Houses With Throwback Intelligence
Some of the “smartest” features for managing heating, cooling, hot-water, and other household technologies make room for the best features of the past.
