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.
Before 1994, when she fell in love with and bought this house, Sarah Blank hadn’t
heard of Royal Barry Wills. Then she learned that the Cape, built in 1957, in New Canaan, Connecticut,
was typical of the work of the famous Colonial Revival architect who was a prolific designer
as well as America’s best-selling architectural writer. A Massachusetts native who opened his Boston
firm in 1925, Wills loved New England’s small, historic houses and made a specialty of designing
updated yet authentically proportioned versions of Capes, saltboxes, and garrison colonials.
Hundreds of his houses stand, including the 1500-square-foot Cape that Blank proceeded to enlarge.
William Day Gates, founder of an important terra-cotta tile and pottery company, built his retirement home in 1927. Decades later, it would take a knowledgeable Arts & Crafts collector to save the abandoned house in Illinois. Chicago architect John Eifler helped guide the restoration: “The house is a terra cotta and pottery catalog!” he says.
If H.H. Richardson and McKim, Mead & White hadn’t been their contemporaries, the prolific Boston architectural firm of Peabody & Stearns arguably would be more famous. It may also be that they designed fewer public buildings and many of those no longer stand. The partners are celebrated for their brilliant designs for residences and resort architecture—including Pierre Lorillard’s The Breakers, in Newport, Rhode Island, and, in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Kragsyde, the stunning seaside home of George Nixon Black, which was razed in 1929.
William Day Gates, founder of an important terra-cotta tile and pottery company, built his retirement home in 1927. Decades later, it would take a knowledgeable Arts & Crafts collector to save the abandoned house in Illinois. Chicago architect John Eifler helped guide the restoration: “The house is a terra cotta and pottery catalog!” he says.
Architect J. Everett Schram infuses a new family home with centuries-old Creole soul—giving a nod to vernacular traditions and a tip of his hat to 20th-century Louisiana architect A. Hays Town, who embraced reclaimed materials and the look of age.
An Artist’s Cottage then and now: Long home to artist–owners, the vernacular beach house sits on the shore at Far Rockaway, a half-forgotten part of Queens in New York. Now it’s safe from the tide.
It wasn’t easy moving from a big old Victorian villa to a small ranch house; in fact, it seemed to require a change in lifestyle. But, with a good eye for a few deft improvements to the house, this owner managed to create a layered ambiance full of warmth.
Drilling holes in tight spaces can be a challenge for any old house DIY-er, but there are solutions. Here’s a look at the right way and the wrong way to drill holes in small spaces.
Culled from readers and editors over the years, here are 10 nuggets to help you renovate and decorate without spending a fortune. Taken together, they suggest both a timeline (plan ahead!) and an approach (listen to the house). Take your time. Seek advice from other renovators, reliable contractors, and a designer who can help you avoid pitfalls.
Stripping paint from woodwork is on the list of most-hated restoration jobs. It’s among the most hazardous, too. Fortunately, you no longer have to strip door casings or painted balusters with such hazardous chemicals as methylene chloride, nor should you blast them with high heat. Recent years have brought gentler methods that are just as effective, safer for DIYers, and easier on the wood itself.
