Indholdsfortegnelse for March/April 2021 i Old House Journal

“As we drove south from Memphis on a chilly December morning, a light rain was falling. We had a few days and an ample supply of film as we roamed the flat expanse, in our rental car. Somewhere outside of Dundee, distant across a muddy field, a stoic building came into view. It was somehow out of place and yet perfectly situated. More than shed but not quite a barn, its hipped roof suggested a railway building, but where were the tracks? We photographed it in the mist. Years later, we found out that it had been a train depot, built in 1895 … after the tracks were torn up, the building was used to store grain. “Near Beaufort, we came upon a deserted complex of weathered buildings: a store,…

> cuerda seca A tile-making method using a waxy mineral mix to create a barrier to separate glazes. > deco A decorative tile featuring a distinct pattern or design, or relief. > encaustics Long-wearing tiles with an inlaid pattern produced from different colored clays layered into depressions in a mold. > geometrics Made using the same method as encaustic tiles, but without a pattern; colored blocks are typically square or triangular. > grout Specialty mortar product used to fill joints between tile units, creating a water-repellent surface. Not to be confused with caulk. > Hispano–Moresque A style blending historical Spanish and Islamic influences including brilliantly colored Persian and Isnik designs. Popularly re-interpreted by dozens of Southern California tile makers in the 1920s and ’30s, most famously Malibu Potteries. > listel /…

Fixing up an Atomic Ranch—or a vintage house trailer? Glitter laminate is back as SparkleLam, a new product that reboots the mid-century original. The sparkle comes from embedded gold, silver, or gold and silver glitter. Sold by the quarter, half, or full (4' x 12') sheet, it comes in many colors, from pastels to brights. Your inner Barbie might even go for pink. The industry-grade 0.040"-thick laminate has a satin finish with a sanded back. It can be applied horizontally or vertically. Use it for counter- and tabletops, backsplashes, or furniture. (It’s not for floors.) This company also offers retro door kits, shutters, ceramic tile, and fabrics. Make It Mid-Century, (844) 696-6462, makeitmidcentury.com…

Basically a light-transmitting tube with a lens at one end (which forms the image) and an eyepiece at the other (to enlarge the image), borescopes were perfected during World War II for inspecting cannon bores—hence the name. (Endoscopes are their medical cousins.) The technology has become so convenient of late that borescope-type gadgets are hawked on late-night TV for homeowners who want to snoop behind kitchen cabinets or down sink drains. RIGID BORESCOPES, the simplest type, mount the lens and eyepiece on a stiff tube. While not as versatile as other types—the subject of inspection must be in a straight line from the viewer—they do offer a higher quality image at a lower cost. In industry, rigid borescopes find most use in inspecting automotive cylinders and in gunsmithing. FLEXIBLE BORESCOPES…

Q: Our kitchen and (former) pantry were made into one open-plan room in the 1970s. When do you return to the original floor plan, and when do you leave the remodeling alone? —Joyce E. Boyd, via webinar A: Should you go back to the kitchen-plus-separate-pantry configuration? Here’s my thought process: You inherited this change, and it’s not obligatory to go back to the original. Furthermore, the 1970s owner may have had a good reason: say, the kitchen was too small for a dishwasher, the pantry blocked access to the backyard, extensive rot needed repair, etc. And the current plan may be working fine for you. Then again, the room may “feel" remodeled, and stuck in the ’70s. It may not offer enough storage. These would be reasons to explore taking…

Shelf paper, we know. What many of us don’t know is that early forms of this kitchen basic had decorative strips that folded over the visible edge of the shelf, introducing a pop of color and pattern. Shelf trim has been popular at least since the 1870s, when Caroline Ingalls taught her daughters how to craft star-patterned shelf edging for a party during which young Laura sought revenge on Nellie Oleson at Plum Creek. Paper shelf edging caught on with the debut of commercially made papers in the first decades of the 20th century. Many patterns are still available from resellers on eBay and etsy as “new old stock.” Brands of the time include Royledge, Betty Brite, Royalcraft, and Roylies. In some cases, the paper is marked with a date;…

“Aliteral face-off.”.—Marco Ungarelli D0 invest in the house and the neighborhood by maintaining original details. The narrow clapboards, window lintels, quoins, and fanciful porches lend charm to this late-19th-century house. TRIPLE-DECKERS HAVE FEELINGS, TOO Multi-family housing takes different forms around the world. The Northeast U.S., New England in particular, has the highest proportion of wood-framed, three-decker houses, which became a staple of working- and middleclass urban housing. An alternative to row houses, they offered light and air and small porches to three or six families. As immigrant populations exploded in cities and the buildings aged, the houses took a fall from grace. Rebranded “triple-deckers” around 1960, the houses subsequently were remodeled or, especially since the 1980s, restored—porches and all. Some are occupied by landlord–owners who rent the other floors; others…

1. ON THE CURVE Great over mirror and sink, the Rufus black or white porcelain, two-light wall bracket is based on a Streamline original made between 1925 and 1940. The Opal slip shade enhances the appeal. It measures 10" high x 11 ¾" wide, with a depth of 9 3/8"; $184.99. Rejuvenation, (888) 401-1900, rejuvenation.com 2. CRAFTSMAN TRIO The Carmel three-light, in-line chandelier is shown in Antique Copper with the Bungalow overlay on gold white iridescent glass. Ideal over a table or kitchen island, it measures 36" wide x 6" deep, with a drop of 38". With options; $1,200 to $1,424. Arroyo Craftsman, (626) 960-9411, arroyocraftsman.com 3. THIRTIES LINES The Art Deco Streamline Modern sconce has a heavy cast mount. Shown fitted with the coordinating Hughes amber shade, it is…

AMERICAN RESTORATION TILE restorationtile.com Authentic tile for restoration or new work; unglazed mosaics for floors AMSTERDAM CORP. dutchtile.com Authentic hand-formed &-painted, tin-glazed tiles from The Netherlands CARREAUX DU NORD carreaudunord.com Hand-pressed, low-relief decos and field tile in matte and gloss glazes CLAY SQUARED TO INFINITY claysquared.com Handmade studio tile for architectural use & accents, in Arts & Crafts, Prairie, and Art Nouveau styles HANDCRAFT TILE handcrafttile.com Since 1926, made-to-order tile known for relief designs & glaze colors; Arts & Crafts and California styles HERITAGE TILE heritagetile.com Various divisions make authentic subway tile, mosaics, bungalow-era tile, Japanese tile L’ESPERANCE TILE WORKS lesperancetile works.com Porcelain tiles in Victorian, Arts & Crafts, historical designs and glazes MEDICINE BLUFF STUDIO medicinebluffstudio.com Intricate art tiles with animal/nature themes, for display or in installations MISSION TILE…

1. TWIRLING DERVISH Garden parasols crafted in India and Bali arrive by way of London. The Olivia has a lotus design hand-painted in gold ink, and is mounted on a hand-carved wood pole: $675, free shipping. A sandstone base also ships free: $375. East London Parasol Co., eastlondonparasols.us 2. MORRIS DREAMS The Morris & Co. Wilhelmina duvet cover combines elements from two William Morris embroideries. It’s printed on organic, 220-thread-count cotton percale. Duvet (double), about $146.50. Pillow shams, about $29.30 each. Shipping about $22.60. Bedeck Home, +44 (0) 33 3200 7331, bedeckhome.com 3. FLOCK TOGETHER Appearing in the 1890s, Hera Feather is one of the earliest designs from this famous London purveyor. The upholstery-weight fabric is printed in Italy on Ladbroke linen. Ships free, within a week, to the U.S.…

THEN and now With the revival of tile-making comes a revival of historically inspired installation design, too. To those familiar with the use of tile in the past, the rooms on this page may look like survivors from an earlier era. The white bathroom could be in an early-20th-century house; the purple-walled bath in a Jazz Age apartment; the fireplace surround in a California bungalow. Yet all were designed in the past 20 years. Indeed, those new to tile may find these installations bold and modern. A dip into the archives reveals that tile was used in ways both utilitarian and decorative—in all periods. Flamboyant examples proliferated in the golden age of American tile-making, ca. 1910 until 1940—not all of it typically Arts & Crafts, as many assume. White mosaics…

Tubular steel furniture married architectural design to industrial materials. The cantilevered Cesca chair is a Marcel Breuer design from 1928. As shown in Vermillion Ultrasuede: $774. Direct from Knoll, knoll.com Available as a glue-down sheet or as planks and squares, this Marmoleum Real flooring in the color Bleeckerstreet is from the Marbled collections. Marmoleum is adaptable to pattern creation and inlays. It’s $4.25 per sq. ft. Forbo Flooring Systems, forbo.com A successor to the expensive and now-rare Monel, stainless steel was a 1920s advancemen in countertops. This modern version is formed of custom-bent and -shaped, heavy-gauge steel. All made to order by Specialty Stainless, specialty stainless.com Lamberts mouthblown glass in Rose is an eye-catching nod to a period color scheme; $46.08 to $67.68/sq.ft. Bendheim Cabinet Glass, bendheimcabinetglass.com…

Time was, anyone hanging a heavy mirror or anchoring a shelf hunted for framing studs by sounding across plaster with knuckle taps or probing with a parade of nails. By the early 1900s, simple tools holding magnets pointed to steel nails or screws—and, one hopes, a stud. However, when electronics started to improve over magnets in the 1970s, stud finders became a whole new tool, meaning they’re not just for finding studs anymore. | ELECTRONIC STUD FINDERS employ sensors to detect shifts in the dielectric constant of the wall—in effect, a change in density. Edge finders, the most basic type, incorporate a single sensor that detects the stud edge as a change in density when the tool is moved along the wall. To work, edge finders first need to be…

Tony Fajarillo has been fascinated with bonsai since childhood. A landscape designer in the Pacific Northwest, he incorporates the miniature trees whenever possible (redwoodbuilderslandscaping.com). When his collection had grown to over 120 specimens, he needed a shed dedicated to potting and pruning. After he replaced a cedar fence one spring, he found himself with 150 six-foot 1x4 boards. They were sound and gracefully weathered, so he bought the lot. building the shed 1. SITE PREP Fajarillo leveled a 7' x 8' corner of the garden, then covered the soil with compacted gravel topped with a visqueen (polyethylene sheeting) to prevent moisture buildup. Heavy-duty pallets once used to hold flagstone pavers were laid for the foundation, secured in place with 1 1/8" recycled plywood flooring, salvaged from another construction project. 2.…

Elmira Stove Works got its start when one of Tom Hendrick’s suppliers threw in the towel. He’d been selling wood-burning Findlay Oval cookstoves to the Mennonite community near Elmira, his hometown in Ontario. Tom wanted the Ottawa stove supplier to stay in business, but the supplier refused. “So Tom bought all of the tooling and parts for the Findlay Oval,” says Tony Dowling, Elmira’s vice president of sales and marketing. “He loaded up two tractor-trailers and brought everything back to a chicken barn here in Elmira.” That was in 1975. Since then, Elmira Stove Works has expanded beyond those wood-burning stoves (still made as their Fireview line) to gas and electric ranges, refrigerators, microwave and wall ovens, and dishwasher panels. The company offers two distinct looks: Appliances in the Antique…

At the 1861/1885 Governor Curry House in Portland, Oregon, owner and restoration consultant Karla Pearlstein spent 20 years making the house period perfect. Along the way, she’s made friends with people who have similar obsessions, including Cindy Allen, whose business Allen’s Antique Lighting, in Harvard, Massachusetts, provided most of the chandeliers in the house. antiquelight.com Entry Hall The entry-hall fixture is a rare example of an American, gaslightera hall light, ca. 1860. The brass and zinc structure has a dark patina, and the fixture has its original glass shade and smoke bell. As is proper, the Victorian fixture hangs from a plaster ceiling rosette. Sitting Room This is one of a pair of brass figural gasoliers, ca. 1860, in Rococo Revival style. The cast arms feature winged eagles. (A vintage…

Crowning the Norwegian log cabin in Maine is a sod roof. The owners affirm that the old-world feature keeps the interior cool in summer and provides some insulation in winter. It also plays a critical part in the construction of the house: Each log is shaped to cradle with the log below it. The extra weight of the sod roof locks the stacked logs tightly in place, and prevents drafts. The technique is ancient and ingenious. In this 20th-century example, a layer of asphalt under corrugated cementitious material separates the turf (consisting of grasses, soil, and roots) from the roof sheathing. Traditional Scandinavian roofs relied instead on several layers of birch bark (acting as a water seal) beneath the sod. The grassy roofs are called torvtak in Norway and Sweden.…