Old-House Interiors

Products of the Week

Coppa Woodworking, Inc. is America's leading manufacturer of custom made, handcrafted, Wood Screen Doors and Wood Storm Doors.

HVAC & Retrofit Systems

A central heating and cooling system using "aspiration" technology to warm and cool homes evenly and quietly with flexible small ducts that weave through ceilings, walls, and even floors.

Painting, Stripping & Finishing

Rubio® Monocoat Oil Plus 2C is a revolutionary, plant-based, hardwax oil wood finish. One layer colors (if desired) and protects your wood. The unique technology forms a molecular bond with the wood fibers resulting in a durable, water-resistant finish, that keeps the natural look and feel of the wood. Available in 50+ standard colors.

Mid-Century Modern Houses

This historic Pittsburgh house was built in 1947. WIth its window wall and open plan, it lives large at just 1170 square feet.

Built in 1939, Suntop was revolutionary. Each of four brilliantly sited units features brick, glass, and cypress siding.

Frank Lloyd Wright Homes

Bewitched by Frank Lloyd Wright's innovative (and livable!) vision for a middle-class dwelling, a couple takes on the restoration of Suntop.

A narrow two-oven model from the new, smaller ‘Companion’ line by Aga Cookers.

Kitchen Furnishings & Appliances

So many choices, it’s hard to decide: antique or reproduction, European or modern?

A cabinet for a corner; its warm wood patina suggested the peachy wall color, then plates in complementary blue. Photo: Duncan McNeill

Furniture

Furnishing a whole room, let alone a whole house, can be daunting. Here’s how to ease in.

Frank Lloyd Wright Homes

Designed by Pittsburgh architects Peter Berndtson and Cornelia Brierly, who studied with Frank Lloyd Wright, the Lipkind house is carefully preserved.

Frank Lloyd Wright Homes

Wright's Pew house on Lake Mendota in Wisconsin recall's the architect's famed Fallingwater, but on a more modest scale.

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The formal foyer, somewhat unusual for a Craftsman house, showcases stained and shellacked woodwork of Douglas fir. The library table and large Morris chair are Grand Rapids’ Lifetime Furniture antiques.

Arts & Crafts Houses

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to bring back a great old house. In the case of this 1909 chalet-bungalow, it took two!

A custom replication of an 1890 design by Al Bar-Wilmette Platers.

Hardware Guides

What makes one brand of door hardware better than another—especially if they’re all but identical in style?

Despite the amount of glass, these triple-glazed french doors from JELD-WEN could qualify for Federal energy tax credits.

Windows, Doors & Shutters

Looking to cut your energy costs and perhaps score a tax credit? Plenty of period-friendly windows and doors meet the new standards.

Low bell lights add atmosphere and safety to terraced steps. Photo: Chris Considine

Exterior Lighting

Light the way—and your home’s architectural details—with well-placed landscape lighting.

Inspired by a billiard fixture, the ‘North’ from Rejuvenation is casual yet period over a kitchen counter.

Interior Lighting

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?

Interiors & Decor

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.

Interiors & Decor

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

Siding, Shingles & Roofing

By getting creative with your shingling you can add flare and character to your house.

A wainscot of painted blind-nailed planks dates to the 1700s.

Wainscoting, Paneling & Trim

Plank walls, paneling, dadoes, batten paneling and beadboard—we delve into five old-house wainscot & wall paneling styles.

Flooring

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

Hotel Ponce de Leon (now part of Flagler College), designed by Thomas Hastings in 1887, historic places

Southern Historic Sites

Once upon a time, long before glittering Miami Vice skyscrapers and Disney fantasies scrawled their signature across the state, there was a whole other Florida.

Northeastern Historic Sites

Things to do and see in Mystic, Connecticut.

Midwestern Historic Sites

Wisconsin’s sweetest vacation destination is a 75-mile-long peninsula that shelters Green Bay from the main body of Lake Michigan.

The 1877 Elissa, the official Tall Ship of the state of Texas, came to call in Galveston in the 1880s.

Historic Places

Since 1528, Galveston has reinvented itself repeatedly. It has flown five flags and was briefly a national capital.

Bathroom Furnishings & Fixtures

Clear glass may not do the trick in a bathroom. But you shouldn’t sacrifice light, ventilation, or beauty in the quest for seclusion—not when so many period-friendly options await.

Northeastern Historic Sites

On the water in historic St. Michaels, Maryland.

Interiors & Decor

Use our comprehensive guide to locate an architectural salvage store near you, or to browse the websites of stores across the country, many of which sell their wares online.