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Old House Journal

March/April 2022
Magazine

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.

What’s better than old houses? The owners!

SIDE NOTES

Old House Journal

Deutsch & Dutch • These beautiful furnishings and crafts have roots in Germany and the Low Countries.

Cook’s Choice • Options unexpected or unusual for outfitting the kitchen.

Delicious Cottages • Who doesn’t love a cottage, whatever the style? Romance characterizes these examples.

TRUE BLUE REDO • In a Prairie-style house, the bland 1980s bath is redesigned for comfort, and with a 1920s vibe.

DESIGN

GOOD FENCES by design • Because their historical architectural vocabulary is vast, fences are best designed starting with function. Then consider the material, the period and style, and installation.

FENCES 1895–1940 • Styles for Colonial Revival homes, Arts & Crafts bungalows, English cottages, and American Foursquares.

TIN CEILINGS

“Old House, New Kitchen,” 1946 • From an American Gas Association advertisement, in House Beautiful magazine.

A New Kitchen Meant to Be • Family furniture and a motif from the house add personality to a light-filled kitchen.

RESTORE

Bathroom Retrofits & other plumbing fixes • Think it’s time to change out old plumbing fixtures for new ones? Not so fast. Restoration may be the smarter, better route.

mixed PLUMBING

RETROFITTING A FIXTURE

AMERICAN RESTORATION TILE • When American Restoration Tile founder Bryan Byrd died suddenly five years ago, his two daughters were faced with a choice: let the family business go, or run it themselves. • Erin Byrd Oliver and Rachel Byrd Silvestri chose to keep it going. “We thought we owed it to the employees to at least give their jobs a chance,” says Oliver, who deals with clients and sales while Silvestri runs production and human resources, and finesses the trickier designs. The company is in Mabelvale, Arkansas.

THE IMPORTANCE OF venting

SURGICAL repairs

plumber’s friends • Ingenious aids for getting deep into bath reno or improving the outcome.

Getting Rid of Ants • They’re a wonder of nature, but you might not want them in your kitchen. Or tunneling through walls.

ANTS AND THEIR APPETITES

But wait! Ants are important.

natural baits

The Cowling Chair • With a pedigreed salvage provenance, these chairs turn industrial junk into industrial design.

THE BALL CHAIR & OTHER PODS

Repairing Metal Ceilings • Tin-plate or steel, metal ceilings remain popular because they are inexpensive and highly decorative. The only enemy is rust.

what about stripping?

A Better Way to Measure • Every restorer will find it necessary to produce accurate measurements, usually for a scale drawing, whether of an architectural element, a room, or an entire floor. We’re inclined to grab a tape measure or folding rule, then measure each element separately: the flat wall space, then the casing, then the window opening, etc. Dutifully, we transfer our separate measurements to a piece of graph paper or to the computer. Later we may discover that our overall measurement is off, the result of small inaccuracies introduced each time we moved the measuring device. Much better to run a long tape the length of the space, noting the cumulative measurement at each significant point. These interim measurements are easily—and accurately—transferred.

STUFF A PAST OWNER SCREWED UP

INSPIRE

RESTORATION Extraordinaire •...


Expand title description text

Formats

OverDrive Magazine

subjects

Home & Garden

Languages

English

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.

What’s better than old houses? The owners!

SIDE NOTES

Old House Journal

Deutsch & Dutch • These beautiful furnishings and crafts have roots in Germany and the Low Countries.

Cook’s Choice • Options unexpected or unusual for outfitting the kitchen.

Delicious Cottages • Who doesn’t love a cottage, whatever the style? Romance characterizes these examples.

TRUE BLUE REDO • In a Prairie-style house, the bland 1980s bath is redesigned for comfort, and with a 1920s vibe.

DESIGN

GOOD FENCES by design • Because their historical architectural vocabulary is vast, fences are best designed starting with function. Then consider the material, the period and style, and installation.

FENCES 1895–1940 • Styles for Colonial Revival homes, Arts & Crafts bungalows, English cottages, and American Foursquares.

TIN CEILINGS

“Old House, New Kitchen,” 1946 • From an American Gas Association advertisement, in House Beautiful magazine.

A New Kitchen Meant to Be • Family furniture and a motif from the house add personality to a light-filled kitchen.

RESTORE

Bathroom Retrofits & other plumbing fixes • Think it’s time to change out old plumbing fixtures for new ones? Not so fast. Restoration may be the smarter, better route.

mixed PLUMBING

RETROFITTING A FIXTURE

AMERICAN RESTORATION TILE • When American Restoration Tile founder Bryan Byrd died suddenly five years ago, his two daughters were faced with a choice: let the family business go, or run it themselves. • Erin Byrd Oliver and Rachel Byrd Silvestri chose to keep it going. “We thought we owed it to the employees to at least give their jobs a chance,” says Oliver, who deals with clients and sales while Silvestri runs production and human resources, and finesses the trickier designs. The company is in Mabelvale, Arkansas.

THE IMPORTANCE OF venting

SURGICAL repairs

plumber’s friends • Ingenious aids for getting deep into bath reno or improving the outcome.

Getting Rid of Ants • They’re a wonder of nature, but you might not want them in your kitchen. Or tunneling through walls.

ANTS AND THEIR APPETITES

But wait! Ants are important.

natural baits

The Cowling Chair • With a pedigreed salvage provenance, these chairs turn industrial junk into industrial design.

THE BALL CHAIR & OTHER PODS

Repairing Metal Ceilings • Tin-plate or steel, metal ceilings remain popular because they are inexpensive and highly decorative. The only enemy is rust.

what about stripping?

A Better Way to Measure • Every restorer will find it necessary to produce accurate measurements, usually for a scale drawing, whether of an architectural element, a room, or an entire floor. We’re inclined to grab a tape measure or folding rule, then measure each element separately: the flat wall space, then the casing, then the window opening, etc. Dutifully, we transfer our separate measurements to a piece of graph paper or to the computer. Later we may discover that our overall measurement is off, the result of small inaccuracies introduced each time we moved the measuring device. Much better to run a long tape the length of the space, noting the cumulative measurement at each significant point. These interim measurements are easily—and accurately—transferred.

STUFF A PAST OWNER SCREWED UP

INSPIRE

RESTORATION Extraordinaire •...


Expand title description text