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.

Our Favorites Issue

Old House Journal • VOLUME XLVII, ISSUE 8

Mellow Gold and Yellow • Yellow, gold, and bronze infuse the house with light.

Gifts for Home • For you or your friends, maybe for the house itself: gifts that will delight all year long.

Mail-order Houses • Sears, Aladdin, Gordon Van Tine, and others sold and shipped ready-to-build house kits, ca. 1908–1940 and later. The houses are most common in the Midwest.

A VICTORIAN SAVED • We fell in love with this house and hope the buyer will, too.

design considerations FOR A PERIOD KITCHEN • AUTHENTICITY REIGNS AT the 1910 Shingle Style house known as Sconehenge, where, in the kitchen, the year is 1930.

to the last DETAIL • When you buy an old house, you will have to remodel the kitchen. Old houses never have enough storage space. Bachelors don’t cook. Wrong, wrong, and wrong—at least at Sconehenge, David Berman’s 1910 Shingle Style house in Plymouth, Mass. When he bought the place, it needed a level of cleanup and restoration that meant a dumpster was parked outside for months. Yet he didn’t touch the kitchen’s old-fashioned floor plan. In fact, David sings the praises of his original kitchen “suite” as he serves his trademark ginger scones.

vintage appliances

Kitchen Fidelity

Invaluable PANTRIES

Paper Mice

COOKING UP THE PAST • A PERIOD KITCHEN MAY CHANGE YOUR LIFE AS WELL AS THE AESTHETIC.

Christmas at Home, 1920

My Fancy in a New Kitchen • Long-coveted design details distinguish a simple but elegant Colonial Revival kitchen.

In Craftsman Service Mode • In re-imagining a 1980s ranch, owners extended an Arts & Crafts-era sensibility to bathrooms.

OWL ANDIRONS

FOLLOW-UPS FOR THE BEST ADVICE • OUR EDITORS REVISIT COLLEAGUES AND READERS TO SEE WHAT WORKED, WHAT DIDN’T, AND WHAT WE ALL WISH WE’D KNOWN.

THE LEARNING curve • IT’S ONE THING TO LOVE AN OLD HOUSE, ANOTHER TO TAKE ONE ON. RESTORATION CAN BE INTIMIDATING; STILL, THE RARE SORT OF HOMEOWNER THRIVES ON THE WORK, TYPICALLY DESCRIBING THEIR CHARACTERFUL MONEY PIT AS “A FUN PROJECT.”

do the BASICS first

Mastering Water • Channel it for heat & hot water, but keep it from infiltrating the house. These products help.

TIPS FROM THE LEARNED

KITCHEN DO-OVER

FINDING the ghosts

THE RIGHT Hardware

Rewiring an Antique Lamp • Hard-wired electrical work is best left to professionals, but wiring or rewiring a lamp is rather easy.

Incentives for Preservation • Not every old house is destined for restoration in full period style. But more can be saved from demolition if tax credits are used to justify rehabilitation costs.

STOOLS from History • American industrial ingenuity yields a couple of unique seating ideas.

A Cool Lunch Table

Use Picture Moulding

VICTORIAN • DIY RESTORATION IN ST.LOUIS Homeowers achieve period authenticity with comfort.

A 19TH-CENTURY LIFE of COMFORT • SERIAL RESTORERS TAKE ON A BIG, BRICK VICTORIAN IN ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

MEET HISTORY IN ST. LOUIS • ARCHITECTURE AND NEIGHBORHOODS IN THE GATEWAY TO THE WEST

RADICAL RESTORATION • After a 1960s remodeling that succeeded in changing its very style, the Craftsman house in Portland, Oregon, was virtually unrecognizable. Then the right family came along.

curb appeal AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS

WALLPAPER SURPRISES • UNEXPECTED...