Innehållsförteckning för Design Resource Sourcebook 2021 från Old House Journal

HOW TO DESIGN A KITCHEN that will still look good and function well in 20 years? By looking to your old house for design cues, you will create a kitchen that “goes with the house.” Rely on such timeless materials as wood and stone. Downplay anachronistic contemporary materials by keeping design simple or by incorporating period conventions. In cabinets and millwork, take design cues from your dining room, or from an old pantry in the house or the neighborhood. Regarding period details and materials, try to use only those that are related to the date and style of the house. Today’s bathroom trends include classic and retro designs: subway tile or painted beadboard, period-inspired fixtures, historical lighting, even nickel fittings. Modeling a new bathroom on those of the early 20th…

The ca. 1880 Romanesque Revival town house in Chicago had an awkward floor plan; the small galley kitchen, especially, was impractical, with little light or ventilation. A bold but historically sympathetic new design by Holabird & Root opened up the back of the house for an 800-square-foot, two-storey addition (with the kitchen below, and a new conservatory or sunroom above). The kitchen has three separate areas: one for cooking, the second as a cleanup scullery and butler’s pantry, and a third for food storage (in a pantry hidden under the stairs). The design of the kitchen has British connotations, both in its location in the bottom-floor “English basement” and because of its unfitted layout with a separate scullery. An open stairway leads from the kitchen up to the conservatory. The…

FURNITURE IS SHOWN more-or-less by period in these pages. (Styles do, however, overlap, and revivals come and go.) Furniture can complement a room by virtue of its proportion, shape, material, and fabric pattern. Or it can complement the room because it comes from the same period and style: Hepplewhite furniture in a Federal house, furniture designed by C.F.A. Voysey for an Arts & Crafts Tudor. Visit most furniture showrooms, even those selling to the trade, and you’re on your own. In these pages, however, as at oldhouseonline.com, you’ll find manufacturers and craftspeople who are attuned to period design, and they can help you set a direction and even develop an eye. Period rooms are the goal of a very small niche of old-house owners. Most take an eclectic approach, mixing…

London, U.K./New York, N.Y. (201) 399-0500 morrisandco.sandersondesigngroup.com At a visit to the company’s archives and design studio in Denham, archivist Keren Protheroe showed a small group of us materials from the nearly intact collection, which includes 20,000 textile samples, pattern books, and most interestingly, ledgers with annotated designs. “The ledger is where they’d use a spectrometer to take an accurate color off the original,” Dr. Protheroe says. “We have four books that go from the first papers printed in 1864 through those in 1895.” Morris, she continued, most loved textiles. They, like everything else, were made in his workshop, where women worked as weavers. “There is a changing style to the patterns. I think that the early Morris patterns are very medieval.” These days, Morris & Co. textiles are printed…

Mansfield, Massachusetts (800) 835-0121 acornmfg.com The third-generation business began in owner Eric Delong’s grandfather’s garage, in 1937. Acorn acquired Tremont Nail, the oldest maker of square-cut nails in the nation, in 2006. Another acquisition, Overboards, makes highquality, decorative covers for baseboard heaters. Acorn’s signature product is its forged-iron builders’ hardware, made in its factory in Mansfield, Massachusetts. The process starts with milled steel that’s been rolled to impress a surface pattern, which resembles weathered steel. Individual pieces of hardware are stamped in small batches at various pressures, using a 125-ton die press. Complex pieces, like ornate strap hinges, are first laser cut and forged, then hand hammered. Anything with a curl or bend is subjected to hot-forged treatments, which are hand manipulated. The result is hardware that’s timeless, in styles…

Florence, South Carolina (888) 245-9663 driwood.com There’s nothing new about the difficulty in locating high-quality interior millwork at an affordable price. When, in the late 1950s, building contractor Charles E. Mitchell Sr. was looking for period trim to complete his home, he found a supplier in Georgia that had what he wanted. He was in a hurry—so he bought Driwood Mouldings, lock, stock, and barrel, and moved it to his hometown of Florence, S.C. Now managed by Charles’s grandson Mitchell Powell, the company is successful largely because of its milling techniques. Rather than laboriously hand-carving trim, nearreplicas of egg-and-dart bed moulding and bolection-faced chair rail are produced on vintage moulders and embossers. One push-feed moulder dates to the early 1930s, but the oldest machine on the floor is an embosser…

IT’S A BIG WORLD OUT THERE! Production tile, art decos from small studios… carved relief tiles, subway tile and mosaics, glazes matte and iridescent… plus encaustics and California revivals. Here you’ll find companies with unsurpassed expertise in tile design and tilemaking. Even manufactured tile has gone far beyond the 4 x 4 square; choose from hexes, octagons, oblongs, diamonds, and rhomboids in many sizes. Mesh-mounted basketweave and herringbone tiles update traditional patterns. Composed of tiny pieces of stone or glass called tesserae, mosaics can be laid in almost any pattern or as a mural. Tile is, of course, used throughout the house, not just in the kitchen and bath. Use it to add style or period sensibility to an entryway, a fireplace surround, a wet bar, an indoor or outdoor…

Sebastopol, California (707) 861-9126 zitoschmittdesign.com A typical room might include a subtle color palette, art tile, wallpaper, and lighting. The pair have worked on large civic commissions and residences. These partners in life and business have collaborated for 35 years. Carefully selected hardwood, often from one tree, is cut and milled by machine; everything else is by hand. No machine finishes exist on surfaces or carvings, and carvings are not sanded. Schmitt says, “The tool is so sharp, it burnishes the wood.” If the project calls for a repetitive motif, it’s often cast in plaster from an original Schmitt carving. Before installation, Schmitt paints or gilds the cast panels or insets. Debey Zito made her name through the exquisite furniture she reproduced for Greene & Greene’s Blacker House. These days…

ONCE YOU DISCOVER the decorated wall—time-honored paint techniques and printed papers, embossed surfaces, ornamental plaster, carved wood—white walls may come to feel like the absence of finish, or remind you of the whitewash once used in stables. Options go from subtle to fantastic, and needn’t be copied outright. True colors of the Colonial period include brilliant yellow, Prussian blue and turquoise, clear green, blood red, plus black and rich ivories tinted with grey, yellow, or pink. Strong interior color continued through the Greek Revival or Empire period. By the 1870s the tripartite treatment was fashionable: walls divided into dado (or wainscot) below the chair rail, a fill or field section, and a frieze at the top of the wall. The Arts & Crafts period is often described as ascetic, a…

Benicia, Calif. • (707) 746-1900 bradbury.com Since Steve Bauer took over about 15 years ago, however, the company’s silkscreen and digital offerings have expanded to cover many other 20thcentury styles. “We are still, essentially, a Victorian wallpaper printer,” says Bauer, who with his wife, Lisa, bought the company from founder Bruce Bradbury. “That collection continues to be our bread and butter. We print a generous amount of Arts & Crafts, Art Deco, and Vintage patterns as well.” Those Vintage Collection papers include lines from the 1920s, ’30s, and ’40s, as well as a suite of children’s papers, including cowboy themes from the 1950s. In the works is a new High Victorian Gothic roomset. Most Bradbury papers are still hand-silkscreened; craftspeople apply ink through patterned screens. Digital printing makes sense when…

Whether as a promenade, a covered terrace, or a freestanding garden feature, a pergola is a bold statement, with practical advantages as a sunscreen and as a support for plants. A pergola may spring from the building or stand on its own. Shading the carriage doors, a narrow pergola–sunscreen is a softening feature on many new garages. There’s a pergola for every style, from formal Italian to Adirondack, California, and Prairie School. Precedent suggests, though, that the pergola does not have to match the style of the house.…

GREEK REVIVAL Dubbed the “national style” of the new Republic (1825–1855), this style touched civic buildings, mansions, and cottages alike. Look for a temple form with a front gable and columns or pilasters. CARPENTER GOTHIC An American version of the 19th-century Gothic Revival, these wood-framed houses often had vertical boardand-batten siding, as well as Gothic “gingerbread” at eaves and porch. SECOND EMPIRE A Victorian style (ca. 1865–1880) characterized by a mansard roof (named for 17th-century French Second Empire architect Francois Mansart). Look for bays, large porches, rich ornament. ITALIANATE A label used for houses built ca. 1845–1900 with a combination of simplified (not academic) Italian Renaissance details, usually done in wood. Includes many mid-19th-century farmhouses. BUNGALOW Low-slung and with exaggerated structure, the Bungalow in its heyday (ca. 1898–1930) was prized…

Perkinsville, Vermont (802) 263-5404 vermontsoapstone.com Soapstone is so timeless, many synthetic and even natural stones are now marketed as facsimiles of this easy-care, nearly indestructible stone. Other materials “may look like soapstone, but they don’t have its heat retention qualities,” says owner Glenn Bowman, noting that in the 19th century people used their soapstone sinks for nearly every chore involving water. “They heated water and filled the sink, washing the kids, dishes, clothes. The stone kept the water warm.” Soapstone was the original laboratory countertop material. While it’s unaffected by chemicals in cleansers or acids in foods, it scratches easily. Left alone, minor scratching creates a patina. For the fastidious, any marring is easily buffed out with fine steel wool. Freshly cut stone oxidizes from light grey to dark charcoal…

Elmira, Ontario (800) 295-8498 elmirastoveworks.com Eye-popping colors were on display as Dowling Zoomed past finished Northstar refrigerators in red, lime, orange, and burgundy. Then he paused at a workstation where an artisan in protective gear machine-polished a curved, footed cookstove leg from the Antique line. Soon to be renamed Heritage, appliances in the Antique line look like late-19th-century cookstoves, with lustrous black, white, or bisque finishes (plus Cayenne Pepper Red and Liberty Blue), and nickel or copper trim. Both lines have all the modern components of a quality refrigerator, oven, or range. They appeal to customers in the restoration market, but also find a niche with clients looking for something unique to furnish a log cabin or contemporary apartment. Begun in 1975 by Tom Hendrick, the company sells and distributes…

Ann Arbor, Michigan (734) 213-0017 motawi.com As a newly minted art-school graduate from the University of Michigan, Nawal Motawi took her restless spirit and interest in the applied arts to Detroit to learn tile-making at the venerable Pewabic Pottery. Two years later, in 1992, she was back in Ann Arbor, making tiles in a garage studio; at first, she sold them out of a booth at the local farmer’s market. Motawi Tileworks’ process is simple, but handcraftsmanship shows in every step. Tile designs are first etched into plaster molds. Clay is then die-pressed into the mold, and the pressed tiles are removed and trimmed. After an initial bisque firing, single-color tiles are hand-dipped in glaze, then returned to the kiln for a final firing. Tiles with multiple colors are hand-glazed…

AMBIENT lighting is in the background, reflecting off walls and ceilings, Decorative chandeliers, torchieres, and wall sconces frequently provide ambient light as well. TASK lighting illuminates a specific area. Examples include a reading lamp, a flexible work light, lighting over the bathroom mirror. DECORATIVE lighting features the fixture itself as an objet d’art. A big old gaslight with gilded bronze cherubs fits the definition, as does a copper Arts & Crafts lamp. Reproductions tend to deliver more light, crossing over into ambient or task lighting. ACCENT lighting is focused on a subject: a collection of pottery, an oil painting. Today’s discreet mini-spots can do the job without ruining the aesthetic of a period room. As the illustration shows, combining new, high-tech lights with antique or reproduction (or artisan-made) fixtures will…

A HOUSE BUILT of related components speaks eloquently. Decorating is ephemeral and can be more personal, eclectic, or mixed. But key elements—the entry door, porch parts, fireplaces, window trim—are part of the architecture, and will be difficult or expensive to replace in the future. These all should speak the same language. Where do you begin? The house itself, and similar neighboring houses, provide the best guidance. Sometimes there is more than one theme; for example, a predominantly Arts & Crafts house may have Colonial Revival woodwork in the dining room. Go ahead and honor the original intention, but pick one dominant theme in any additions (or replacements) of major elements. When you stick to the architectural style, what you add will look “as though it’s always been there.” Flooring, too,…

1. CRISP ARCHITECTS crisparchitects.com Located in the historic Hudson Valley, the firm’s primary focus has been the creation of buildings that fit their site, historic context, and client needs, including energy conscious and green design solutions. (845) 677-8256 2. DAVID HEIDE DESIGN STUDIO dhdstudio.com Full-service architecture and interior design firm helping homeowners who see themselves as caretakers of their historic properties care for and sensitively update their old houses. (612) 337-5060 3. EARLY NEW ENGLAND HOMES BY COUNTRY CARPENTERS earlynewenglandhomes.com Their 1750s homebuilding system features timbered ceilings, a center chimney, wide-board floors, and custom, handmade features. With modern convenience and efficiency, the design reflects early New England charm. (860) 643-1148 4. THE COLOR PEOPLE colorpeople.com They create paint-color schemes for every style and era of buildings, residential and commercial. For…