The Aesthetic Movement influenced British design and American taste.

Surprise sophistications in early furnishings.

Design ideas for an informal and beautiful vintage mantel.

Whether your taste runs to colonial wire-arm chandeliers or hammered copper with mica shades, period-inspired lighting is easy to love. But are reproductions really functional in this age of halogen lamps and organic LEDs?

See available options from Simplicity Sofas.

Detecting Asian influence in the work of Greene & Greene.

An extensive list of Mid-century Modernism books.

Figured glass added beauty, light, and privacy to houses by fusing form and function.

Stained glass windows add color and appeal, changing the quality of the interior light and lending another dimension to the room’s design.

Ingenious ways and means for storing items in early homes teach us about beauty with utility.

Period-appropriate furniture for every style.

These Colonial Revival bedrooms are right out of the French stylebooks that informed high-style interiors in the colonies. Rooms are sophisticated yet homey with fabric and antiques.

Restoration of this stone house has taken decades of respectful work by its owner, a designer who is inspired by Shaker design.

Bare but for a thin skin of paint, modern walls are a stylistic aberration. For most of our history, the lower wall has been decently dressed in decorative paneling and various wainscoting styles.

More on Marlite and other early laminates for walls.

The country vernacular.

Do you frame from the heart, or frame for the room? In a word, the answer is yes. Here are some picture framing guidelines.

Bare but for a thin skin of paint, modern walls are a stylistic aberration. For most of our history, the lower wall has been decently dressed in decorative wood paneling.

Prussian blue gets all the ink, but true Colonial-era colors, although diverse, have an earthy quality.

Ca. 1770 - 1830, colors were brilliant, the patterns eye-popping.

Which type of wood flooring is best for old houses? The answer depends on where you plan to use it.

Produce artful floors with ages-old techniques and some paint.

The flooring you choose sets the style, period, and tone for the room.

Glazing—the glass configuration chosen for windows and doors—can transform interior environments by bringing in light and by opening or concealing views; glass allows connection between interior spaces and to the outdoors.