Old House Journal

Find guidance on buying, renovating, budgeting, and decorating. It’s all about keeping the character while upgrading for modern comfort and your own style. For prospective and recent homebuyers -- whether your house is Victorian or Mid-century Modern. Inside: • Kitchen/bath renos • When to DIY (and not!) • Inspiring house tours • Using vintage lighting • Pantry ideas • Modern farmhouses • Curb appeal upgrades • Choosing paint colors • Picket fence styles • Repairing floorboards • How to wallpaper … and lots more

Contributors in this issue

Old House Journal • volume liv, issue 1

Arts & Crafts Colors • From blue-green to ruddy orange, a palette drawn from nature.

Metalwork • Household essentials run from gate latches to a big brass bed.

Bigger Bungalows • These picturesque houses of the Arts & Crafts era exude charm at a generous scale.

ASK OHJ

DESIGN

designing built-in living spaces • I want an alcove just for me. Kind of like a hideout separate from the commotion in the rest of the house from which to read, write, nap, or just daydream. I want to be aware of the action in the house but be able to turn my shoulder politely and be by myself. • So goes the design brief from one of our clients. She’s not alone in her desire for personal scale and place-making in home design; this is a common human need.

Victorian Update • A sophisticated kitchen renovation corrects anachronisms in an 1891 house undergoing restoration.

RESTORE

new INSULATION FOR OLD WALLS • If after insulating the attic, weather-stripping windows, and addressing infiltration, an energy audit recommends upgrading wall insulation, the first step is to find out what’s already in there, if anything.

TOOLS + MATERIALS

Finishing Secrets FOR FURNITURE-GRADE TRIM • Whether you’re staining a door, built-in cabinetry, or any of the millwork in between, follow these steps for a flawless finish.

Matching Old Mouldings • There comes a time in the life of every old-house owner when we need to match a section of existing wood moulding.

INSPIRE

Just the way it was • Original elements remain in this 1914 Prairie-influenced house: handsome wood and leaded windows, the brick fireplace, wainscot and trim, and even kitchen cabinets. Deftly added upgrades in period mode enhance the exemplary restoration.

a bungalow Out West • A restoration prodigy restores a 1915 Arts & Crafts bungalow in Sheridan, Wyoming, and that leads to a successful career.

art deco BATHS IN BLACK & WHITE • OWNERS OF A 1926 HOUSE DECIDE TO LOOK BACK TO THE ERA WHEN IT WAS BUILT, EMBRACING BOLD LUXURY.

Un-muddling!