How to Enhance a Historic Home

The right architect and contractor will enhance a historic home’s aesthetic integrity.

The true value of the renovation of an old house is not being able to tell that any alterations were made. Architect Carol Tink-Fox chose to put the addition on Kara Kosinski’s garage instead of on the main house to maintain what she calls the “cute cottage character” of the historic home. “By making a separate small building, we kept the new space historically in context,” she says.

Home Cottages

Here is what she did to link the past and the present:

• A steep-pitched roof and attic were added to the flat-roofed garage, which also has a historic designation.
• The home’s exterior color scheme was repeated on the addition and garage.
• Heavy-timber beams along the breezeway with diagonal braces evoke the feel of those of the main house.
• Windows and French doors open the guest room to the beautifully landscaped backyard. Because the garage is on a slab, unlike the house, there are no steps to go down to enter the garden.
• The old swing-style garage doors, which looked like barn doors, were replicated. Contractor Scot Lewis custom built the fully weather-proofed doors using tongue and grove pine with solid brass oil-rubbed bronze hinges.

By Nancy A. Ruhling
Photography by Jaimee Itagaki
Styled by Molly Kosinski and Hillary Black

Shared By Cottages And Bungalows

Avoiding Renovation Stress

I wish everyday life had a Command + Z function (or Control + Z for you PC users).

If you aren’t familiar with keyboard shortcuts, Command + Z is the equivalent of the “undo” function on your computer. I use this shortcut, and I use it often. (I’ve already hit the key combo twice since I started writing this blog post!) And a day rarely goes by when I haven’t wished at least once that I could undo something with the snap of a finger, the blink of an eye or the stroke of a key:

I shouldn’t have attempted to drink a cup of coffee whithout a lid while driving own a road marked “under construction”….  Command + Z.

I shouldn’t have worn a white blouse while eating pasta in marinara sauce… Command + Z.

I shouldn’t have tried a new haircut two weeks before my wedding… Command + Z. 

(And before you ask, yes—I’ve really done all these things!)

Alas, until some virtuoso unlocks the secrets of time travel, Command + Z will forever remain functional only in the digital realm; therefore, it’s necessary to learn from our mistakes so we aren’t doomed to repeat them—or at least repeat them often.

When it comes to designing, redesigning, or remodeling a kitchen, however, there is no room for error. Every mistake—from the wrong shade of paint to a miscalculated measurement—is potentially costly. Sometimes the cost is small, sometimes it’s colossal, but it’s almost always painful in some way or another. Fortunately, we at Kitchens are daily adding fantastic resources to our website to help point you in the right direction before you find yourself in the regrettable situation of thinking, I should’ve researched that contractor before allowing hi to gut my kitchen down to the studs….Command + Z.

From flooring and appliances to planning the perfect layout and creating a fully functional outdoor kitchen, you will find valuable tips, tricks, information and inspiration in every post. And after digesting all the great intel we can offer you online, you will be well-equipped and fully prepared to approach your next kitchen project with confidence and creativity—instead of wishing in vain you had the magical powers of a real-life undo button.

Written and photographed by Rebecca J. Raz

Posted  By Well Styled Kitchens