The bumper sticker on my truck reads, “Please Recycle. Buy an Old House.” It’s not often a company can fit its mission statement on a bumper sticker. A beverage napkin maybe, but we boiled it down to bumper sticker length. Honestly, there is a bit more to our company’s mission, but the real reason I [...] Read on →
I’m seriously excited to share a new book with you today! Today is the official launch of Handmade Walls: 22 Inspiring Ideas on Bringing Your Walls to Life. It is a fantastic new book by my friends Jamin & Ashley Mills over at The Handmade Home. These two are some of the most creative (not to mention [...] Read on →
I’ve got a fun reclaimed wood project for you today that we recently made for a local winery. They wanted a rustic, natural wood feel for their tasting room that was soon to open near downtown Orlando. You can check out the winery at www.quantumleapwinery.com So, here’s what we did . . .
Your home wasn’t built all by its lonesome. It has friends all around the neighborhood, built at the same time by the same people using some of the same techniques and materials. Just like you can learn a lot about someone by asking their friends, your house is no different. Maybe your historic house has [...] Read on →
Whether you home is Victorian or Craftsman, Greek or Colonial, plain or elaborate you should respect Its vintage. It is what it is and trying to change it will only lead to trouble. There’s something incredibly jarring about one type of home masquerading as another. Your home has a vintage that is completely unique unto [...] Read on →
The Folk Victorian style is one of the most often found styles of historic homes in America. Folk Victorians can be found in almost every state and chances are you’ll find an example somewhere in your own town. Next to the Craftsman Bungalow this is the style most often associated today with being a “historic home.” [...] Read on →
Shabby-chic, French country, vintage, repurposed, picking, salvage..there are tons of names for taking old materials and incorporating them into your home. It can be as easy as getting a great deal on a piece of furniture at the local antique fair, but to create the truly eye-catching conversation pieces it requires re-thinking the materials you have into something unique and special. So we’ve put together some salvaged projects to get your creative juices flowing. And if you need more ideas you can always follow our Pinterest board “Salvage Projects We Can Make For You” which is updated almost daily with new repurposed ideas for your home.
There is something special about an old house. The incredible craftsmanship, the quality materials, but most precious is the history and story they tell. It’s easy to get caught up in the nuts and bolts of how to cope a joint properly, or cleanly refinish wood floors, but sometimes I need to remember why I do [...] Read on →
After a century of paint jobs and humidity a lot of your home’s hardware can loose its original luster. It’s a small detail in a historic house, but properly restored hardware on windows, doors, and elsewhere gives a house that extra oomph that adds to the overall vintage feel of the home (whether people consciously [...] Read on →
There are countless old and historic house blogs scattered across the Internet. Some of them focus on How-To subjects, others discuss the history of old houses, and some are an online diary of people’s journey to fix up there own historic house. Some of these blogs are great for learning the step-by-step of certain projects [...] Read on →
So, you’ve decided to buy a historic house. Congratulations! Purchasing a historic house is more than just owning a beautiful piece of history. It’s a labor of love that can require a lot of work and an extra serving of patience. Historic homes line the streets of almost every town from Maine to California, and [...] Read on →
A historic home is more than just a place to live; it’s a living history that you’re a part of. While the trials of owning a historic home can be daunting at times, the benefits are unrivaled. Financial benefits, architectural designs and quality of work that is unmatched by today’s standards are just a few [...] Read on →
The walls of any pre-war house are most likely wood lath like in this picture covered with 3 coats of plaster. The work took a long time and was very labor intensive. Not to mention it required a skilled plasterer to make sure the plaster was properly applied and the wall was smooth and level. [...] Read on →
This time of year there are so many things to be thankful for! Family, friends, good health, a good job. All things that add a bit of peace to our lives. As for me, I’m thankful for all the things above and also the fact that I get to do something I love every day. [...] Read on →