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

Old House Journal

A Shaker Influence • Items inspired by the American Shakers: spare, simple, and uniquely beautiful.

Queen Anne Royalty • The quintessential Victorian style is coveted still.

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DESIGN

getting SHUTTERS right • Beyond their practical uses, shutters add relief and balance to a house, when properly sized and hung.

Five Common Shutter Mistakes • These design misses are a dead giveaway that shutters are, well, phony—not built for the window and not intended to serve any real purpose. Also avoid cheap materials that don’t weather well, split pairs (that is, one shutter missing), and an over-stated accent color.

Five factors to consider in getting shutters right • If you want to reproduce or add shutters to your house, success comes down to these factors: appropriate style for the period, material selected, proportions, positioning, hardware, and paint color. Custom shutter companies can help.

Bungalow-era Suite • After a recent renovation, these rooms look like they belong in the 1902 house in Portland, Oregon.

RESTORE

PLANNING & PREPPING FOR basement FLOORING

creating A BASEMENT SUBFLOOR

types of flooring FOR THE BASEMENT

FOR THE FLOOR

5 Ways to Stiffen a Bouncy Floor • Minor floor deflection absorbs the impact of your steps, but too much movement can be troublesome.

Window Weather-stripping • It’s a simple, cost-effective way to block infiltration and eliminate drafts, whether or not the job is DIY.

INSPIRE

beyond charming • WHAT HAD BEEN A HAPHAZARD 1920s COTTAGE IS NOW A DELIGHTFUL ROMP THROUGH COZY ROOMS FULL OF COLOR, PATTERN, AND NODS TO ENGLISH ARTS & CRAFTS MOTIFS.

RETREAT TO THE COUNTRY • This early-18th-century farmhouse wears its history well. The comfortable interior boasts old timbers, big fireplaces, and antiques. The setting is bucolic.

House with a VILLAGE SOUL

Resources

Un-muddling!