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

Renovation Reflections

Old House Journal

A Mid-century Summer • Selected Retro furnishings are full of color and comfort for those long, sunlit days.

Getaway Cottages • Rustic, quirky, or lavish, these are dreamy summer escapes.

HINTS

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HINTS

DESIGN

stylish WINDOWS defining character • Windows are the eyes of a building and a primary indicator of style.

WINDOW types

bump-outs, oriels and bays

CHARACTER-DEFINING WINDOWS • BASIC VISUAL GUIDELINES BY ARCHITECTURAL PERIOD

The Bathing Porch • In a unique twist, an upstairs sleeping porch was recast as a gleaming bathroom with a view.

ALL ABOUT ROOF VENTS • ENERGY-EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS may have increased the need for ventilation through the roof, even in old houses. page 34

a vent for EVERY ROOF • Ventilation is considered standard practice, but not all building scientists think vents do much or agree on the best ventilation products

DO YOU NEED?

SOFFIT & RIDGE VENTS ARE THE STANDARD

Gable Vents are common in older homes

creating low-risk unvented roofs

POWER VENTS come with risks

VENTING A TRICKY OLD ROOF

roof turbines + louvers EFFECTIVE OPTIONS

SPECIALTY VENTS • ARE MADE FOR DIFFICULT PLACES

UP ON THE ROOF

Porch-Post Rescue • Even on a limited budget, you can make things right by pouring new footings and replacing the posts.

think safety BEFORE deconstruction • The jacking assembly consists of a carrying beam, screw jacks, and temporary posts. The jacking posts will be under load, so it’s critical that everything stay in place should one part fail.

FASTENERS FOR A NO-ROT WOOD-TO-CONCRETE CONNECTION

a positive connection from grade to roof

Replace the important parts

Replacing an Asphalt Shingle • Pry, release, remove, replace, then use tar to glue it down.

INSPIRE

HEADED BACK to CAMP COMFORT AND JOY IN WISCONSIN’S NORTH WOODS • The modest façade blends right in with the old cabins that line the lakeshore. Inside, a preponderance of natural wood captures the essence of a summer lodge. This is an old house in spirit, just as its owners are old-house people. • Boulder Lake is in the North Woods of Wisconsin, a unique geography dominated by pine forest, rivers, and lakes. When Anne and Jim bought a 1940s camp lodge here, they expected to remodel it as a residence.

avaulted success • This mid-century house was energetically updated with a new kitchen and a few surprises.

A BUNGALOW IN SOUTH PASADENA ARTS & CRAFTS MOTIFS INSIDE AND OUT • With corrections to the former garage and a better-designed kitchen, the 1913 house is all it was meant to be, thanks to preservation architect Jen Dunbar.

Resources

Un-muddling!