The Blog
Begin with the end in mind… That’s what the productivity gurus tell us. While sometimes it’s okay to get on your bike and just start riding, if we actually want to get to a specific destination in a certain amount of time, it really helps to have a roadmap. Then, when obstacles and worthwhile detour […]
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Moving Day in Little Old New York, satirical painting, c.1827 Time for a little spring cleaning? May is a time for fresh starts – planting a garden, hitting the trails, opening the windows and letting the air in. The idea of “spring cleaning” goes back millennia and makes particular sense in the 19th-century context of […]
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Spring Break is over. Easter chocolate and jelly beans have been consumed. Taxes are filed. So, what’s next? Here’s my calendar for the upcoming month, full of items that need tending to. After a long season of fireside planning, life is shifting outdoors again. I’ve already dipped a toe in the garden – hooking up […]
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“Repair or Replace Old Windows: A Visual Look at the Impacts” by the National Trust for Historic Preservation Historic windows are an important character-defining feature of old houses. For me, as a preservationist, that alone is enough reason to go to the mat. But there’s more to the story. Preserving historic windows is a […]
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You never know what you’ll find behind wall paneling, under carpets, or in the basement after a hard rain. I always encourage owners to take their time in the planning stages and try to anticipate as many decisions as possible because, lord knows, old-house rehab projects are a roller coaster ride once they get started. […]
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If you haven’t heard about historic rehabilitation tax credits, you’re in for a treat. In a nutshell, it’s a big way the government incentivizes the preservation and adaptive reuse of old buildings. This topic fits in with other posts I’ve written about the National Register of Historic Places because, to qualify for historic tax credits, […]
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Old buildings tell stories…we just need to understand how to read them. How many times have you scratched your head, wondering where the original fireplace was, why a previous owner sealed up that door, or how a pair of men’s boxer shorts ended up behind the wall? Some mysteries will never be solved, but we […]
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Over at CIRCA Old Houses, I just posted a blog answering the question, what is the National Register of Historic Places? In a nutshell, the National Register is the official inventory of historic properties in the United States. It carries various rules and benefits that I look forward to exploring in future posts here and […]
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Friend and colleague Tina Reichenbach of Richbrook Conservation offers the following advice about choosing the right paint for historic exteriors: Far more important than paint color is the type of paint used for painting exterior woodwork, especially for the preservation of old or heritage properties. Evidence from the past 50 years or more since […]
