Indholdsfortegnelse for March/April 2020 i Old House Journal

Home-design books and magazines tend to focus on the finishing touches, such as color, furniture, and decorating. That changes only when the central issue of the chapter or article is, say, sustainability, energy efficiency, or accessibility—topics that sometimes feel akin to eating spinach. Solving problems, however, is the point of design. It’s integral to the design process: define the problem, fix it, and only then make it pretty. Problem solving is central, of course, to the article on Universal Design (p. 22). Look for it in other stories, too. Tangible solutions to real-world problems are at the heart of the success! feature (p. 16). A family who’d lived in their modest 1901 house for 20 years hired a design team to address issues that had plagued them the entire time.…

1. BEADED CLASSICS Sold through dealers, the Savannah collection includes knobs and cup pulls in more than two dozen finishes, including ng unlacquered brass. Shown in chrome, the pulls measure 4" wide. Coordinating ng knobs are 1 ¼" tall. Pulls: $31–$36. Knobs: $24–34. Classic Brass, (716) 763-1400, classic-brass.com 2. LITTLE TREASURES The Artisan collection features themes salty and traditional in relief. In antique pewter, antique brass, or museum gold finish, the knobs range from 1" to 2 ½" in size, depending on motif; they are $17 each. Acorn Manufacturing, (508) 339-4500, acornmfg.com 3. SARGENT SUNBURST This 4" cast-brass sunburst bin pull is a particularly fine reproduction of an Eastlake design by Sargent & Co., ca.1880. It measures 3 ¼" (scre-whole) center to center. In polished, unlacquered, or antique brass, $8.89–$9.49…

When a Denver family decided to renovate the kitchen of their historic house in the National Register-listed Baker neighborhood, they hoped to preserve the ca. 1890 house’s charm without compromising function. They did it by incorporating a warm color palette centered on custom knotty hickory cabinets, with a creamy tile backsplash and veined black soapstone countertops, a tomato-color accent wall and brass details throughout. The design is a collaboration among designer Shaun Minné, owners Kimberly MacArthur Graham and Ralph Graham, and the appliance company Big Chill. The new work enhances the gracious design and rustic roots of a house designed by noted Denver architect William Lang (1846–1897). The rest of the house retains many original elements, but the previous kitchen, small and cramped, was an ugly 1980s rendition all in…

“ The paint had peeled in just one area—actually, it had popped off entirely, down to bare, apparently sound wood. ” We’ve been house hunting and just toured a 1920s Dutch Colonial with low eaves. Although it has recently been painted, there’s an area on the back of the house where a section of paint, roughly 4' x 6', has peeled and popped off. The wood underneath is sound and dry. In fact, it’s protected under an overhang, so we’re mystified.  —Drew Scott and Carl Stottlemeyer THE FIX Several things could lead to paint peeling in one location and not others. That particular section may have been painted when it was raining, when the wood was wet, or when it was too cold for the paint to adhere properly (under…

Kelly and Elmer Priegnitz believe firmly in minimizing the impact of modern comforts on their old house. For that reason, they chose a tankless water heater. “We love it,” Kelly says. “It heats the water much more quickly and efficiently, and it’s also a space saver.” For homeowners, tankless heaters provide advantages. Number one is probably space. A traditional water tank holds 40 to 60 gallons, while the wall-mounted tankless water heater is generally less than half the size. Reduced energy consumption is another consideration: In order to provide on-demand hot water, standard storage tank heaters work to constantly keep water hot. Tankless ones also provide hot water on demand, but through an initial draw of energy. And although the upfront cost of a tankless heater is greater, their lifespan…

The Sartains were lucky to have help from the archives during their restoration of Ancient Oaks. (See previous story.) The Historic American Buildings Survey (habs) had photographed and documented this property in 1933. The record proved invaluable. HABS began during the Great Depression, in December 1933, when Charles E. Peterson of the National Park Service submitted a proposal for a thousand out-of-work architects to spend ten weeks documenting “America’s antique buildings.” habs became a permanent program of the nps in 1934 and was formally authorized by Congress as part of the Historic Sites Act of 1935. The Historic American Engineering Record (haer) was founded in 1969 to parallel habs, providing for documentation of engineering works and industrial sites. In October 2000, the Historic American Landscapes Survey (hals) was permanently established…

THE WORLD OF TILE Ceramic tile is ancient, durable—and oh so beautiful. In many shapes ands sizes, tiles long have been used as a decorative material inside and out, in churches and city halls and residences, for floors and fireplaces and fountains. This new book—it looks like a tile—is a visual history of tile from the Middle Ages until today. Published in association with London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, the book presents a chronological timeline and a geographic/ethnic tour. The diversity is stunning, as is the revelation of proto-modern designs among the oldest tiles. The 300-page book starts with mass production of tile in 13th-century Europe and moves through the abstract complexity of Islamic design, to figurative Delftware and to traditional Portuguese tiles. Learn about types and designers as you…

In artful houses ca. 1900 to 1925, plain curtains of scrim or linen, shirred or hung from rings, were tastefully embellished with embroidery, appliqués, or stenciled designs. Stylized motifs included ginkgo and oak leaves, the Glasgow rose, dragonflies, bunnies, and pinecones. Textile artist Dianne Ayres is a master of this genre, and offers yardage and kits as well as custom design and fabrication of curtains, pillows, bedspreads, and table linens. She also has a line of printed fabrics. The curtain shown was custom-made for an Arts & Crafts house in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey. In Natural Linen, it has appliqué and hand-embroidered panels in the Seed Pod design, which has its source in a ca. 1906 edition of Gustav Stickley’s The Craftsman magazine. Arts & Crafts Period Textiles, (510) 654-1645,…

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Bret Hodgert, who owns Old Portland Hardware in Oregon, has always been fascinated by elevators. He explains that historic floor-indicator lights were often works of art in brass or bronze and glass. Most of them disappeared as buildings were renovated and elevators updated. Whenever he finds an old indicator light for sale, Bret buys it to add to his collection. He’s repurposed them as vanity mirror sconces and home-theater lights—he even mounted one outside a bathroom to show when the room is occupied! He also installed a pair of Art Deco-style indicator lights in his own den, replacing the wall sconces. the process 1. A CLEANUP Hodgert prefers to save the original finish whenever possible. Any dirt and mis-applied paint layers may be removed by soaking the piece overnight in…

The style name comes from the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, where leading American architects of the late 19th century trained, including Richard Morris Hunt, H.H. Richardson, and Charles McKim. (Another name for Beaux Arts is Academic Classicism.) The school taught an exuberant, highly ornamental style with classical underpinnings. Inspiration came from the study of grand French and Italian buildings of the Renaissance and Baroque eras, as well as, occasionally, English Georgian (i.e., Renaissance-derived) buildings. In any case, most Beaux-Arts buildings were creative interpretations of the prototypes. Unlike picturesque Victorian styles, Beaux Arts was logical, symmetrical, sophisticated, and proportion-obsessed. The style most often was rendered in masonry: limestone, marble, or cast stone (a stone and cement composite), and sometimes brick. Decorative elements were not necessarily carved; they might be made…

Like wall stenciling, graining and marbleizing were popular decorating techniques during the 18th and 19th centuries. Recent scholarship shows that decorative and trompe-l’oeil painting were even more prevalent, diverse, and region-specific than previously known. It’s likely that any house built before the turn of the 20th century had some sort of faux painting. But it can be hard to find evidence of historic graining or marbleizing. The decorative treatment may be one of many paint layers and easy to miss; doors or trim were perhaps stripped or even replaced in the past. Graining (wood-graining, grain-painting, faux bois) is essentially the painted imitation of an expensive wood over an inferior wood or on a plain surface. The practice changed over time, reaching a zenith in the late 19th century, when decorative…

SUCCESS! DESIGNER Chris Christofferson, David Heide Design Studio dhdstudio.com BUILDER A-Squared a2mn.com WINDOWS Signature Collection ‘Ultimate’ Marvin marvin.com KITCHEN fabrication Lightworks lightworkslighting.com • shades Lundberg Studios lundbergstudios.com KITCHEN TILE Tongue in Chic Collection 2.5" x 10.5" ceramic wall tile in color You Don’t Snow Me Alys Edwards alysedwards.com KITCHEN HARDWARE TK883 BSN Brixton Pull in Satin Nickel; TK885BSN Brixton Pull for pantry and dishwasher; TK880BSN Brixton Rimmed Knob in Satin Nickel Top Knobs topknobs.com BATH TILE Modern Dimensions 2" x 4" Field Tile in 0790 Matte Arctic White, set in running bond pattern; 4 ¼ x 4 ¼ Cove Base A-3401 in Matte Arctic White 0790; Toulouse 2"x 6" #9999422176 in Matte Arctic White 0790, all Daltile daltile.com FURNISHINGS stair carpet Contract Flooring contractflooringinc.com kitchen rug Pine Cone Hill® annieselke.com THE UNIVERSAL HOME Related Resources…

“Took a gambrel, and lost everything….”—John Harrington CA. 1910 GAMBRELS IN PITTSBURGH The front-facing gambrel style is a variant of the detached row house, a common type of housing in medium-density urban neighborhoods with narrow lots. The roof is a picturesque nod; these are not generally known as “Dutch Colonial” houses. Along with late Queen Annes, brick row houses, American Foursquares, and Tudors, this type fills entire neighborhoods built between 1870 and 1920—a period when Pittsburgh’s population grew nearly sevenfold. Many were home to the families of immigrant mill workers. The common houses were adapted for changing times, and are not necessarily treated as historic even now, a century or more after they were built. The remuddled house is hard to read. Was it built with a second-storey porch that…

1. BURSTS OF COLOR Accent a bathroom or kitchen backsplash with ceramic tiles in Arts & Crafts stencil designs by Helen Foster. Crisp and clean in detail, the square tiles are available in 16 patterns and offered in two sizes, 4 ¼" and 6", for $17.85 to $22 each. Fair Oak Workshops, fairoak.com 2. FLOWER POWER On-trend yet period-sympathetic, the Floral Cottage “Marshmallow” back-splash is composed of alternating 4" x 4" Medieval floral and field tiles that create a rhythmic optical illusion. Field tile: $49 per sq. ft. Floral tile: $22 each. Clay Squared to Infinity, (612) 781-6409, claysquared.com 3. LUXURIANT LEAVES At first glance, the “Leaf Triad” mural appears almost monochromatic; subtlety and depth come from rich glaze colors (Antique Gold with Black Forest). As a centerpiece for bath…

Hunter and Leaf are among the 10 greens in marbled-pattern Marmoleum by Forbo. Linoleum dates to the 1860s and is a natural, biodegradable flooring made of linseed oil, cork dust, pine resin, and wood flour. More at forbo.com/flooring/en-us/ No 1930s kitchen would have been without a manual meat grinder. This old-school example has a food-safe tin coating and a wood handle. The C-clamp lets you mount it to a countertop (and remove for storage). With two grinding plates and three stuffing funnels, it’s $22. webstaurantstore.com Elmira’s Northstar model 1958/1959 French-door fridge has modern convenience with a rounded, Art Deco look. In two sizes/depths and nine colors, including Quicksilver, wet-painted with automotive-grade paint. Starting at $6,295. elmirastoveworks.com…

1. ALL-PURPOSE SANDER Segue easily between sanding rough surfaces and smooth with the Rotex RO90 DX-FEQ. The multimode sander can switch from circular to delta pads in seconds, without tools. Settings include random orbital, polishing, and a gear-driven aggressive mode that removes stubborn finishes. $460. Festool USA, (888) 337-8600, festoolpaint.com 2. FIVE IN ONE The ingenious Black & Silver 5-in-1 multi-tool handles detail work like scraping and wall prep. It includes a 2 ½" high-carbon steel scraper blade, putty remover, half-round cutout, and a sharp point for opening cracks. The fat end opens paint-can lids. $5.29. Hyde Tools, (800) 872-4933, hydetools.com 3. POWERING THROUGH The Restorer Tool makes short work of hard-to-remove materials, from paint and varnish to ceramic coatings, on surfaces that are curved, wet, or dry. It can…

STEP-BY-STEP STEP 1 Use a 5-in-1 painter’s tool to dig out the damaged grout. For larger areas, try using an oscillating multitool fitted with a grout-removal blade: While wearing safety glasses, hold the tool horizontally or vertically, depending on the grout seam you choose to start with. Guide the tool along the grout—without using too much pressure. You want to remove only the grout; applying too much pressure may cause the tile to be damaged. After one pass along a seam, angle the blade slightly and go over it again to remove as much grout as possible. To help prevent fatigue, support your arm on a toolbox or stool. Next, use a flat-head screwdriver to remove any bits of grout that were loosened but not removed by the multitool. Vacuum…