Home Restoration: DIY Wooden Window Repair Guide

Your Victorian home’s original windows are more than just a noteworthy aesthetic feature—they’re also a vulnerable but important part of … Continue reading →

Once part of George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate, Woodlawn was nearly destroyed by an 1896 hurricane—but not this time. Carefully maintained by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Woodlawn suffered only minor landscape damage due to Hurricane Sandy. (Photo: Woodlawn in 2003 by William Thornton, image public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Victorian Home Restoration: Why Keep Wooden Windows

Contractor Hank Handler was finishing up “routine maintenance” on the original windows at Woodlawn, an 1805 home in Alexandria, Virginia, … Continue reading →

They purchased the stonework, from an 18th-century French church, from one of their favorite antique stores in Carmel, California.

Restoring Turn-of-the-Century L.A., Part 3

After Barbara and Andy Thornberg spent 35 years restoring their Eastlake-style Victorian home in Los Angeles, California, Barbara’s favorite room … Continue reading →

Barbara’s husband bought her this modern art piece by Gerry McMillan,
a California artist. She likes juxtaposing the
contemporary pieces with the antiques.

Restoring Turn-of-the-Century L.A., Part 2

After 35 years of hard work and restoration, Barbara Thornberg is still in love—with her husband and her Victorian home … Continue reading →

The exterior of the house is painted in a deep green, high-gloss oil paint because the California sunshine will fade the color within a few years. The Thornbergs used Victorian colors; the brick-red color highlights the architectural details of the wood trims.

Restoring Turn-of-the-Century L.A., Part 1

Echo Park wasn’t the best part of Los Angeles in 1975 when a young couple moved to their Angelino Heights … Continue reading →

Downtown New Orleans, flooded after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 (photo courtesy of Thinkstock.com).

5 Steps to Dry Out your Sandy-Damaged Home

The devastation we’ve witnessed up and down the East Coast has, if anything, convinced us more than ever of the … Continue reading →

If your fireplace looks like this and you're desperate to fix it up, consult these books first. (Photo: Thinkstock)

Top 10 Renovation Books

We restoration professionals make it look easy. To you, it seems like we always know why there’s moisture coming through … Continue reading →

The Pros and Cons of Living in a Historic District

Interested in moving into an historic district, whether in Old Towne Orange or downtown Charleston or somewhere in between? Do … Continue reading →

Restoration Story: An 1886 Queen Anne

Restoration can be a full-time job laden with chance and coincidence, as Cathie and Dennis Caldwell of Orange, California, have … Continue reading →

An 1845 Greek Revival home, Mount Fair’s main house sits on a hill on a historic farm near Charlottesville, Virginia. Photograph by Durston Saylor, courtesy of Mark P. Finlay Architects, from The Vintage House by Mark Alan Hewitt and Gordon Bock, published by W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., ©2011; wwnorton.com.

Questions to Ask Your Historic Home before you Renovate

Before you begin renovating, take historical architects Mark Alan Hewitt and Gordon Bock’s advice and hunt for clues about these … Continue reading →