Old House Journal

The Original Restoration Magazine for people who are passionate about old houses to repair, rehabilitate, update, and decorate their homes; covering all classic American architectural styles,—from the earliest Colonial-era buildings to grand Victorians of every variety to Arts & Crafts bungalows and mid-century ranches.

Gleaming exuberance!

SIDE NOTES

Warming Up the Winter • Technology, fittings, and finery to warm the hearth, the room, and thee.

Homey Arts & Crafts • For your bungalow, imagine a cozy chair in the mellow light of a mica lampshade.

I-House Variants • The name comes not from the linear shape, but because a cultural geographer in the 1930s noticed that the vernacular form is omnipresent in Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa.

MAKING IT ALL WORK • We were committed to doing right by this Prairie School house.

DESIGN

Creating an Exterior Paint Scheme • It’s not just a question of one color, two, or three… context is important, too, and so is where you put the colors. Understand body, trim, and accent.

Craftsman Medieval • Colorized image from the Birge (wallpaper company) Book for 1908

A Victorian Cottage Spa • How appealing is this vintage bathroom, all in green and white?

THEY STILL MAKE…

RESTORE

EPOXIES FOR WOOD REPAIR • Contrary to popular usage, “epoxy” is not one thing, nor is it a verb that means “to glue.” The word refers to a class of synthetic thermosetting polymers used in adhesives, consolidants, plastics, fillers, molding compounds, and coatings. Different formulations make epoxy compounds compatible with wood, glass, stone, concrete, and more. This article is about those epoxy products used to reinforce and fill wood elements.

REUSING A VINTAGE DOOR • A DIYer offers first-person hints on using an epoxy filler.

New Life for an Old Dresser • A garage-sale dresser, desk, cabinet, or chair can be made over with decoupage.

Winter Defenses • Ready the house for winter with these protective strategies.

the Secrets of Sexy Soffits • Cornices and casings get all the attention, but what roofers call the soffit—that exposed area beneath the roof overhang—is important to get right.

STUFF A TODDLER SCREWED UP

A Mantel Makeover • A vintage piece reverses an unfortunate earlier remodeling of the fireplace.

Concrete Bonding Issues • If yours is a 20th-century house (or perhaps even late-19th-century), it’s likely you have some aging concrete: steps or walkways spalling after many icy winters, a basement floor cracked from years of heavy use or water infiltration. You may have been told that replacement is the only option. If you are looking for a way to resurface deteriorated concrete without the mess and expense associated with removal and replacement, you do have other options. Fresh Portland cement does not easily form a hard chemical matrix around old material—hence the lack of a good bond. If you’ve ever added a topcoat of ordinary concrete to the surface of existing concrete, you know that the new mix either didn’t adhere or failed in short order.

ASK OLD HOUSE JOURNAL

INSPIRE

ST. BENEDICT • The restoration and ar tful decoration of a Victor ian house on the southeast coast of England took many years, beginning with one rental flat.

ENGLISH COUNTRY DECORATING • IT’S COMFORTABLE, PERSONAL, AND SURPRISINGLY AMERICAN.

SIMPLICITY defined • Facing tilted porch piers and baby-blue woodwork, a smitten owner brings the Arts & Crafts aesthetic to a 1921 bungalow in Seattle.

THE ROYCROFT INN AND CAMPUS • THE ARTS AND CRAFTS COMMUNITY, ITS ARCHITECTURE AND ITS OUTPUT, CONTINUE TO INSPIRE.

Carving a Future • A decrepit homestead was theirs to interpret in Victorian fashion when this...