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Having trouble finding the motivation you need to start a home reno? Sounds like it’s time to add some inspiring DIYe...
Newly built houses must comply with strict design and construction codes, but most of those rules didn't exist decade...
For old house enthusiasts, the historic charm of a vintage home can outweigh even the most tempting of today's modern amenities.
The best way to understand the fabric of America is to experience it firsthand. If you haven't been to these destinations and landmarks already then add them to y...
These American architectural wonders have seen better days.
We were probably right to leave behind many hallmarks of yesterday's home, but it's time to reconsider these 15 once-popular details, not for their novelty, but f...
When presidents want to escape the hustle and bustle of our nation's capital, they don't check into a nearby bed-and-breakfast. Instead, they head to secluded est...
America may have 50 states now, but a little less than 250 years ago it consisted of just 13 colonies. Even today, there are some amazing homes built during the c...
Airbnb has loads of property listings that date back at least 100 years. We’ve rounded up our 15 favorite historic rentals around the U.S., including colonial tav...
Who doesn’t love an all-American road trip? As automobile travel gained popularity in the early 20th century, a slew of kitschy roadside motels popped up along th...
With their captivating histories and unbroken ties to tradition, these small but fascinating towns bring to life the legends, the lore, and the romance of the past.
Who doesn’t harbor fantasies of transforming a seen-better-days abode into a showplace? Whether hoping to live in the resulting residence, use it as a rental prop...
For your next weekend getaway or midweek escape from the metropolis, skip past the swanky hotels and hit the hay at one of these 50 small-town inns across the cou...
Today's pricey, high-tech gadget may be tomorrow's has-been, little more than the seed for some cooler innovation to come. That was certainly the case with these ...
Queen Victoria may have vacated the British throne long ago, but the regal and architecturally distinctive Victorian houses erected during her reign, from 1837 to...
When a home is extremely dated or downright dilapidated, you have many more options than just moving or taking a wrecking ball to it. As these remarkable makeover...
Why demolish an aging edifice when you can transform it into a dreamy dwelling designed for modern living? That adaptive spirit spurred the crafty conversion of t...
From stately claw-foot tubs to sumptuous furnishings, bygone bathroom amenities from decades—or even centuries—past are winning over modern-day homeowners and mak...
For history lovers, nothing beats the old-time charm and architectural wonder of America’s oldest towns. These settlements are hundreds of years old, dating back ...
Planning your next escape? Venture beyond the familiar hotels to uncover the best-kept secrets in vacation destinations. These 20 bed-and-breakfasts around the co...
Across the world, countless historic structures have been converted into hotels whose old-world architecture and antique decor transport guests back to another er...
In desirable neighborhoods across the United States, the razing of a tear-down is a familiar sight. But this market-driven trend actually has a very long history....
Fans of Ernest Hemingway remember him not only for his classic books, but also for his larger-than-life persona and h...
While a fixer-upper can be a lot cheaper than a home that's move-in ready, some fixer-uppers just aren't worth the headache. If the home you have your eye is plag...
The summer months can turn charming older homes into hot, sweaty, uncomfortable places. Installing central air would bring relief, but remodeling to accommodate d...
Oh, flea markets and swap meets the way they used to be! Vendors selling used items they no longer needed, and buyers scoring great deals—some requiring TLC, othe...
As agriculture has morphed into big business and populations have shifted from the countryside to urban centers, timb...
In 2013, Karina and Craig Waters undertook the project of a lifetime: restoring a centuries-old, long-neglected chateau in the south of France.
Five years ago, Karina and Craig Waters—a tax accountant and a urologist, respectively, in Perth, Australia—began loo...
So the new house isn't perfect—it needs a little fixing up. A house that needs some TLC might seem like a bargain, especially if it's your first home, but are you...
In La Verne, California, a small, sunny city roughly 30 miles east of Los Angeles, renovation expert Ray Adamyk recen...
Converting an old barn into a home makes great use of the original structure's open space and guarantees a new house dripping with vintage country charm. Often, b...
The lost art of Victorian plaster detailing is making a comeback in a new form. Modern manufacturers are finding way...
The gasp was audible. On entering the dining room at Monticello in late 2011, the chatter abruptly ceased as the tour...
Restoration, Preservation. Renovation. Rehabilitation. Remodeling. They don't all mean the same thing. But let's cons...
Cut nails bring a bygone air to wood floors, doors, cabinetry, or fencing. With their heads showing on or above the s...
Molding profiles tend to represent eras in building design. As architectural details, moldings often serve to pinpoin...
Perhaps you have been searching for several months or even years, and now you have found the perfect home. Your dream...
Weeksville’s OriginsBefore the city grid was imposed, a Dutch and Indian trade route called Hunterfly Road meandered ...
Owners of old houses have a lot to navigate when they embark on an old house remodel. Some homeowners may be tempted ...
Interpreting historically accurate home design can be confusing, but a new series of free pattern books should help h...
While its heritage is centuries old, the graceful acanthus leaf remains a fashionable design motif for all time.
After a three-year overhaul, the American Museum of Natural History welcomes the public to its newly restored Theodor...
If you’re working on a remodeling project that calls for removing old woodwork, here are some tricks from the pros to...
Hemingway & Gelhorn, which previewed on HBO last night, offers an extraordinary look at the literary careers, pas...
My February trip to Havana with the Finca Vigía technical team was a short, three-day visit focused on paper conserva...
In 1939, after selling the film rights to his novel For Whom the Bell Tolls, Ernest Hemingway purchased Finca Vigía, ...
For many, living in a historic home—perhaps like the Lightfoot House (pictured above) in Colonial Williamsburg, VA—wo...
Thanks to the determination of six enterprising coeds at Dartmouth College, a landmark cabin razed by fire was rebuil...
With the advances in marine navigation systems—radio, satellite, and radar—the need for lighthouses to guide mariners...
Ask any seasoned renovator or restoration contractor and they will have at least one good demolition story to tell—no...
In the master bath, Bob reviews the appropriate design choices made by homeowner and contractor Nick Beasley for this period home. A new low-flush toilet is insta...
The unusually shaped room with original beadboard that sits under the roof’s eaves will be adapted from its prior use as a home office to be a child’s bathroom wi...
A peaceful nursery and childproofed home await the baby, and an elegant new master bath and powder room greet family and guests.
In the dining room, carpenter Bob Ryley installs a chair rail and works with carpenter Danny Ruffini on the glass doors that will be added to the corner cupboard—...
Architectural conservator Brian Powell helps Bob do some detective work to discover the original exterior paint color scheme. They then look at historically appro...
Bob takes us to Stockbridge, MA, to tour Naumkeag, a wonderful example of the grand Shingle Style by architect Stanford White.
Experts review the replication of old house moldings and the use of Western Red Cedar for house trim and boards.
Bob meets with architectural restoration specialist Jack Beyer who reviews some of the challenges posed by developing a landmark building. It's revealed that this...
Karen Brooks Hopkins, president of the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), gives Bob a peek at the restoration of the main building.
Bob gets an update on the status of the brick façade restoration. Replacement bricks have been aged and roughed up with a grinder, lending them an antique appeara...
Bob gets a final status update on the restoration of the façade, as the ground-floor commercial storefront undergoes construction and the bluestone steps are laid...
Bob introduces an 1890s Brownstone on New York City's Upper West Side.
Bob walks with the owner and architect through different rooms on the first floor of the Victorian. Looking over the floor plans, they discuss the changes that w...
Bob goes up to the attic of the Victorian project house, where an ODL tubular skylight is being installed. Also, Bob looks back at the installation of windows on ...
Bob and Roxane Gilmore, the erstwhile first lady of Virginia, tour the governor's mansion, and meet preservationist Fred Ecker, who is removing a mantel for resto...
Bob meets with preservationist Fred Ecker to go over the process of making repairs to the floors.
Bob checks progress in the basement and attic of the governor's mansion, then visits the guest cottage to see how the restoration is progressing.
Carpenter Bob Ryley works alongside preservationist Fred Ecker to restore an old window sash.
Architect John Paul Hanbury brings Bob up to date on the progress that's been made on the restoration of the Virginia governor's mansion.
Carpenter Bob Ryley and general contractor Sam Daniel issue a progress report on the construction of the north addition to the Viriginia governor's mansion.
In the Virginia governor's mansion, Bob and Bob Ryley look at baseboard replicas and inspect how the space behind the baseboard is used.
Carpenters Bob Ryley and Mike Smith hang double doors at the entrance to the private family living quarters of the Virginia governor's mansion.
Executive Chef Mark Herndon shows Bob around the newly remodeled basement kitchen of the Virginia governor's mansion.
Carpenter Bob Ryley and Greg Cowan (from Tidewater Restoration) discuss the process of restoring the antique mantelpiece.
Bob returns to the Virginia governor's mansion to see the restored mantelpiece reinstalled in the ballroom.
Bob tours the interior restoration of the Virginia governor's mansion.
Bob tours the finished restoration of the historic sections of the Virginia governor's mansion.
Bob takes a walking tour of some of Boston's best-preserved antique commercial buildings in the Leather District with architectural historian Brian Pfeiffer.
Bob offers some history of Providence, RI, particularly of the city's Elmwood neighborhood.
Bob recaps the entire Elmwood project. It was a community effort involving an array of houses, though great pains were made to adhere to the historic look of the ...
Bob meets Gavin and Michelle Langley, owners of a vintage Sears kit house, who plan to preserve both the historic and sentimental values of the house. Bob review ...
Bob and homeowner Gavin repair and refinish a 75-year-old oak floor. Because the new patch floor panels have a different thickness from the original, a belt sande...
Restoration contractor Richard Marks shows Bob around the elegant, though quite run-down, Federal-style project house.
Bob visits a Federal-style home undergoing reconstruction, and having an addition put on, in Charleston, SC. Restoration contractor Richard Marks guides Bob throu...
Bob surveys the plaster cornice in the project home. Water damage has ruined a large section and much of the remaining plaster needs repair. Bob and restoration c...
Alongside restoration specialist Richard Marks at the Federal-style home in Charleston, Bob watches painter David Snyder scrape and sand old wood siding.
Bob joins restoration contractor Richard Marks in the library of the Federal-Style home to review the restoration of the mantel.
Bob takes a grand tour of the elegantly restored Federal-style project house, focusing on the portico and back façade.
In search of design ideas, Bob tours a charming Colonial kitchen in a house on Nantucket Island.
For inspiration, Bob tours the John Quincy Adams House in Quincy, MA.
