From creaky floorboards to confusing floor plans, historic-home ownership comes with a specific set of challenges. Of course, the unique character and delightful charm that only a well-aged structure can provide often outweigh any negatives. So the question becomes not if you’ll be buying the old beauty, but how to renovate it in a way that’s respectful of its past and functional for the future. Below, restoration experts offer five major dos and don’ts for revamping an old home.

Do paint or stain wood floors and millwork.

Architect William Brockschmidt of Brockschmidt and Coleman says, “In terms of impact, there is always paint. Painted floors or painted brick or painted paneling can give a fresh look when the existing materials are well designed but perhaps have a dreary color.”

He adds: “We would never want to destroy the aspects of an historic house that characterize its significance as an historic house. On the other hand, sometimes a historic house is just not that beautifully detailed, or bad decisions were made when it was built that don’t warrant preservation. If the historic house is not necessarily significant and has a beautiful exterior but an uninspired interior, we don’t have a problem creating a more delightful fantasy version of what the appropriate interior might have been.”  Continue reading “The 5 Dos and Don’ts of Renovating a Historic House”