Innehållsförteckning för January/February 2023 från Old House Journal

1. PETALS IN PLASTER Enrich any ceiling with the 36"-wide floral medallion with 6 ½" deep relief. A classic design from a 130-year-old archive, it is real plaster, reinforced with natural hemp for strength and ease of installation; $761,25. Decorator’s Supply, (800) 792-2093, decoratorssupply.com 2. VISUAL SUPPORT The clean-lined pedestal bracket lends support to a doorway opening or mantel, or under a countertop. It comes in a choice of five woods and multiple sizes. A medium bracket measures 5" wide x 5 ¾" deep x 10" tall: $122.75 to $156.74. More Than Moldings, (781) 444-8001, morethanmoldings.com 3. PEACEFUL FRIEZE A simple landscape frieze from C.F.A. Voysey’s most prolific period, Dove and Holly features a gently arching holly tree reminiscent of Gothic tracery. Paired mourning doves suggest peace, making the…

You have to start somewhere! To get your feet wet, try thinking in vignettes. Vignettes are those “tight shots” you see in magazines—not the whole room, but rather a little grouping. It might be an easy chair/table/lamp all tucked into a corner, or tall plants placed on each side of a wicker settle on a long wall. The idea enlarges on the “art unit” of Victorian times, a carefully composed and artistic arrangement of furniture and objets. • Though it sounds risky to furnish one spot without considering the whole room, this approach may work quite well. Some spaces are just easier to “see.” You may have a good sense of what would look right on the stair landing, or between a bed and the window—even if furnishing the room…

No adding on, just a shift in the location of the door that leads to the home office—space problem solved! Now the sink counter can run the length of a wall. Befitting the old house in Portland, Oregon, the new kitchen by Craftsman Design is in the “sanitary” white-kitchen mode of the era. Better still, white-painted cabinets, budgetfriendly white appliances, and a porcelain sink reflect light to create a cheerful room. Though not part of a modernized open plan, the kitchen feels spacious and connected. A glazed door lends a view to the office. Arts & Crafts-era details include inset cabinets, carved brackets, a linoleum floor, a ceramic-tile backsplash, and an island made from a salvaged piece. Red Dragon granite countertops and a complementary green wall paint enliven the scheme.…

I’ve been collecting antique light fixtures for several years now, mostly bargains from Facebook Marketplace or eBay. After finding a few gorgeous pieces—like the Eastlake chandelier I plan to hang in my Queen Anne parlor—I realized I had to teach myself how to rewire and restore vintage lighting. My first project was a 1907 Bryant pan light that broke down into a surprising number of pieces, all of which needed to be cleaned before wiring could be replaced and the fixture reassembled. In some cases, I improvised replacements for small but essential parts that were missing. Since that first light, I’ve rewired dozens of fixtures, including an ornate chandelier that I restored with a polychrome finish and rose-colored shades. Now that chandelier hangs in the guest room. Not only are…

SUCCESS: BLAND TO GRACIOUS BUILDER Patrick Mulroy, ReModern Builders, LLC remodernbuilders.com GUTTERS FiberGutter fibergutter.com CUSTOM TRIM PVC Whitewood Millwork whitewoodmillwork.com WINDOWS all-wood Jeld-Wen jeld-wen.com PAINT body Saybrook Sage HC114 trim Manchester Tan HC81 accents Louisburg Green HC113 Richmond Gold HC41 benjaminmoore.com DESIGN: VIGNETTES PICTURE HANGING House of Antique Hardware houseofantiquehardware.com Picture-rail mouldings, tassels; rail hooks in many styles Classic Accents classicaccents.net Brass hooks, kits, cord & tassels. Swan Picture Hangers swanpicture hangers.com Traditional hangers, hooks, tassels, brass nails, rosettes, cord & chain, picture-rail mouldings; Romantic, Victorian, Craftsman & Contemporary styles PICTURE FRAMES The Frame Gallery theframe galleryboston.com Custom framing, museum standards, period framing, restoration Craftsmen Hardware craftsmenhardware.com Hammered copper frames, wood frames Dard Hunter Studios dardhunter.com Authentic Arts & Crafts wood frames Fine Lines Framemakers finelinesframing.com Arts & Crafts, Prairie, custom wood frames Holton Studio Frame-makers holtonframes.com In-stock and custom wood frames with a…

GO ONLINE TO VOTE! READERS’ PICK FACEBOOK.COM/OLDHOUSEJOURNAL AVERASBORO, NC /$75,000 Stabilized but needing restoration, this 1835 house with a temple entry has exquisite woodwork, Federal and Greek Revival mantels, a winder stair with Chinese Chippendale railing, faux crotch-mahogany wainscot. CAMPBELLSBURG, IN /$44,900 The Wilkins house, built in 1860, was given a Queen Anne makeover in 1890 using the designs of pattern-book architect George F. Barber. Find bay windows with horseshoe and arched windows and fretwork porches. CAMDEN, AR /$179,900 A superb example of intact, pre-Civil War architecture, this 1857 Greek Revival mansion retains its double-height, colonnaded porches. Doors and windows have unique, hooded surrounds; find Greek Revival mantels inside. LEBANON, KY /$89,250 This ca. 1845 Italianate diamond-in-the-rough with stuccoed brick needs extensive work but retains such features as roof brackets, period…

Gas fireplaces and retrofit inserts are made in styles historical and contemporary by Valor Fireplaces. They create an efficient, controllable heat source without the particulates that result from wood burning. Shown is a zero-clearance gas fireplace from the Portrait series in the Windsor Arch Front style, in brushed nickel with coals. (Another to see is the Senator Front, in classical Federal style.) These are also sold as inserts designed to be installed within an existing masonry cavity or fireplace, with the existing chimney used to run venting. Inserts are typically less expensive compared to a zero-clearance renovation or fireplace replacement. The company also sells gas stoves and electric fireplaces. Find education, specifications, dealer locations, and support at their website: valorfireplaces.com…

WRONG WAY OFF AT AN ANGLE Without the proper bits or drills, boring in tight spaces—and being careful to introduce the hole in the recommended middle third of the joist, etc.—can be daunting. Angled holes, whether directed horizontally or vertically, may work for flexible wire, but are completely unsuited forwaterorgaslines. Further, depending on the incline, steeply angled holes can remove a significant amount of wood and consequently should be avoided when possible. RIGHT WAY SOLUTIONS EXIST If even a short drill bit won’t afford the space you need, opt for a right-angle attachment or even a right-angle drill. These significantly reduce the amount of space required to maneuver and use the drill. If space is still too tight for a standard spade bit, buy several bits and cut them into…

The mahogany John Townsend Fall-front Desk (ca. 1770, Newport, R.I.) is indicative of fine reproduction work by Justin Kauffman of Noblesville, Indiana. A graduate of Boston’s North Bennet Street School, he specializes in 17th-through early-19-century furniture. Custom quotes. kauffmanfinefurniture.com Adaptable and elegant, rosette pulls have been used for centuries. Horton Brasses offers many designs in brass with a choice of finishes. Crafted with several boring sizes and with round or oval backplates. Shown is the LD-RP-2 (2 ¾") rosette pull from their Londonderry Brasses collection; made to order, $56.55 each. horton-brasses.com Slipcovered chairs, especially in floral designs like the Indie Wingback Skirted Chair, are perennial favorites. Shown in a tropical floral and crafted from kiln-dried wood, the chair measures 39” high x 33” deep x 32” wide; $877.49. Jennifer…

1. HYBRID HEATER Instead of an electric car, save money and fuel with the Voltex hybrid electric water-pump water heater. Heat-pump technology reduces heating costs by 70% while dehumidifying and cooling ambient air at the same time. The 50-gallon size: $1,793. AO Smith, (800) 527-1953, aosmith.com 2. FOR EVEN HEAT The freestanding Madrona arch-front gas stove in a brown Majolica finish supplies comfortable radiant heat through natural convection. Available in two sizes, the traditional cast-iron stove uses 25% less energy compared to forced-air systems. $3,000 to $3,500. Valor Fireplaces, (604) 984-3496, valorfireplaces.com 3. SUPER-THIN SOLAR Less than a tenth of an inch thick, PowerFit, Flex, and LiteMount are flexible, thin-film solar modules designed to work with standing-seam metal, membrane, and corrugated-metal roofs, respectively; one-fifth the carbon footprint of silicon…

Twenty years ago, Nancy Heckler was renovating an old farmhouse. She had trouble finding suitable table lamps: most were boring—not stylish, wellmade, or period-sensitive. So she began making her own, often reconstructing old lamps. She collected lampshades and eventually amassed thousands of parts, from finials to bases. Friends asked her to make them lamps and a business was born—not a repair shop, she notes, but a studio offering one-of-a-kind art lamps. It’s called Luminola Custom Vintage Lighting: facebook.com/luminolalightingdesign/ to begin Heckler finds old, often broken lamps everywhere—at flea markets and antiques malls, at garage and estate sales. She won’t hesitate to buy beat-up old lamp if she can salvage one special part, whether it’s the prancing-horse base of a TV lamp, a Bakelite finial, or a period lampshade. She…

Q: I’m removing my 1910 double-hung wood windows for restoration and every sash is a different size. Do you know a permanent way to label each window and its sash (e.g., “LR north”)? There must have been a system! A Sharpie isn’t doing it. —Donna Plante A: I just know we've covered this sometime in the past 50 years, so I went looking for “window buttons,” “sash ID,” etc. Nope, they are called sash tacks or number tacks, dating to Acro Hold-Tite Numbering Tacks popular since the 1940s. Cards hold two of each number. You can use them to match up sashes, storms, or screens to their respective window openings. You also can use them for shutters—or really any other house part that has multiple pairings. Made of brass, the…

You might bring out the inherent (or preferred) style of the room and your house with what you display on the mantel and how you arrange those objects. Even if your fireplaces themselves are plain and mundane, well-chosen accessories and objects will make a style statement to complement the house. Traditional options for the wall over the mantel include artwork such as a painting, a mirror, taxidermy, or a textile. In the eclectic first quarter of the 20th century, art was often a plein-air or landscape painting, a portrait, or such period favorites as Edward Curtis prints of Native Americans. When a mirror was used, often it was beveled glass set into mouldings over the hearth, rather than a florid piece hung on the wall, as in previous periods. Animal heads…

“Helluva bar fight, you should see the other guy.”—Chris Dodd DON’T forget that some interior renovations end up affecting the exterior appearance of the house. “ONE-EYED WILLY” Our correspondent writes: “I love Old-House Journal. When I saw this house in my neighborhood, I thought it might be a contender for Remuddling. It’s an otherwise attractive house, but a developer thought it would be a good idea to remove a front window. I call the house One-Eyed Willy. Such a terrible idea! What were they thinking?! “The Detroit Shoreway in Cleveland is full of old houses. But the flippers and developers see dollar signs, so it has also become a hotbed of remuddling, inside and out,” she explains. “Many homes have been gutted to appeal to those looking for an open-concept floor…