Old House Interiors & Decor

Articles focusing on styles, projects, and ideas for old house interiors & decorative accessories, including furnishings, painting, wallpaper, ceilings, lighting, floors, and rugs.

By Old House Journal

Victorian Era
Florida Mid-Victorian Styles
oldhouseonline.com - Brian D. Coleman
Get to know Rococo and Renaissance, Belter & Herter.The Victorian period lasted a long time—Queen Victoria was the English monarch from 1837 to …
Interpreting Period Built-ins Today
oldhouseonline.com - Mary Ellen Polson
Built-in bookcases, buffets, nooks, and benches—all up for reimagining with reference to the best 20th-century models.The quest for storage that …
San Francisco, CA
Rubylane
oldhouseonline.com - Old House Online
Ruby Lane, an e-commerce web site, has been designed to bring buyers and sellers of antiques, art, vintage collectibles and jewelry together …
Maintaining Rustic Wood
oldhouseonline.com - Patricia Poore
Tips on maintaining a rustic wood interior.At the Catskills camp built in 1910, the entire interior is sheathed in rough lumber. (See previous …
Virginia
Georgian Style, 1710–1800
oldhouseonline.com - Patricia Poore
Appreciating an iconic Colonial design vocabulary.Our 18th-century originals are confined to the thirteen Colonies, but Georgian style flourished …
Gothic
Reformed Gothic Style
oldhouseonline.com - Brian D. Coleman
Reformed Gothic style is a blend of medieval, aesthetic, and Arts & Crafts.Gothic Revival isn’t the easiest style to live with. The great …
Native Americans
Inspirations for Interior Polychromy
oldhouseonline.com - Brian D. Coleman
Polychromy is the art of using many colors in decoration or architecture.The harmonious, daring, and historical use of color. It’s not new—the …
Victorian Era
Victorian Trade Cards
oldhouseonline.com - Patricia Poore
Inspiration for interior color palettes and polychromy (use of many colors) may come from period books, which often included color plates.This …
Sandpaper
Easy Distressed Finishes
oldhouseonline.com - Patricia Poore
With a distressed finish you can paint it on, wipe it off; sand, glaze, or crackle it.It’s true that fine furniture makers, conservators, and …
Lemon Juice
Why Three Kitchen Designers Choose Vermont Soapstone
oldhouseonline.com - Old House Online
We catch up with three kitchen designers in the Northeast to hear why they use Vermont Soapstone for their projects.Soapstone may very well be the …
Flooring
The Story Behind Soapstone
oldhouseonline.com - Old House Online
Read how Vermont Soapstone, who has been crafting soapstone for more than a century and a half, got its roots and why it’s one of the country’s …
Scenic Wallpaper
oldhouseonline.com - Brian D. Coleman
Hand-painted and wood block-printed wallpapers surround us with historical scenes, both real and imagined, or they can bring the panoramic outdoors …
Textiles
Books on English Country House Style
oldhouseonline.com - Patricia Poore
See our English Country style essential bookshelf.These are the books on English Country style most recommended by the editors of Old House Journal.• …
Homey Arts & Crafts
oldhouseonline.com - Old House Online
For your bungalow, imagine a cozy chair in the mellow light of a mica lampshade.SEND ME A LETTER The mailbox with windowpane vents is handcrafted in …
English Country Decorating
oldhouseonline.com - Brian D. Coleman & Patricia Poore
It's comfortable, personal, and surprisingly American.The English country house style, oddly enough crystalized by an American decorator, is as …
The Eichler Effect & Legacy
oldhouseonline.com - Patricia Poore
Tracing the California roots of modern contemporary style and Joseph Eichler's impact.New materials and construction methods marked the postwar era …
MOMA
Colorful Kitchen Floor
oldhouseonline.com - Patricia Poore
An otherwise all-white room gets boundless energy grounded by a colored floor.Completed in 2008, the house was designed to fit into a historic beach …
Victorian Era
5 Ideas for Historical Home Window Treatments
oldhouseonline.com - Old House Online
Window treatments confer privacy while giving rooms a décor boost. Here’s our guide to the best window embellishments for old houses.No matter how …
A Directory of Architectural Salvage Stores in the U.S.
oldhouseonline.com - Patricia Poore
Use our comprehensive guide to locate an architectural salvage store near you, or to browse the websites of stores across the country, many of which …
Taxidermy
The Old-House Library
oldhouseonline.com - Old House Online
An old-house library is filled with books—and history.With a Cambridge accent, please: “Won’t you join me in the library?” As old-house dwellers, we …
Dining Rooms
Playful Art Deco Style
oldhouseonline.com - Brian D. Coleman
Exotic wallpapers are just one surprise in this playful Art Deco apartment.When these homeowners—“hands-on designers”—were looking for an apartment …
Art Deco
The ABCs of Art Deco Style
oldhouseonline.com - Patricia Poore
A vocabulary introduces art deco history, influences & motifs.Art Deco Begun in France but blossoming in the United States, the new style that broke …
Tables for any Occasion
oldhouseonline.com - Mary Ellen Polson
Side tables and small occasional tables in early America were portable, versatile, and delightfully varied in style.In modern life, a big unmovable …
Storage Ideas
Old-house Kitchen Shelving
oldhouseonline.com - Old House Online
Ideas from every era for old-house kitchen shelving.In the kitchen designed by Steve Marchetti (see previous pages), wooden shelves float against the …
Prairie School Houses
oldhouseonline.com - Patricia Poore
Prairie School houses were a phenomenon 1901–1919 that changed domestic architecture forever.Prairie School and Prairie-style houses still seem …
Lighting 1910 to 1930
oldhouseonline.com - Mary Ellen Polson
Endlessly inventive, Teens and Twenties lighting fixtures still appeal today.1. FANCIFULLY DARK In a deep bronze finish with amber mica shades, the …
Butler’s Pantry
oldhouseonline.com - Mary Ellen Polson
Equip the kitchen’s prep area with classics past and present.1. ELEGANCE IN CHEMISTRY The Professor gives the concept of pour-over coffee a …
Pottery
Mediterranean Craftsman Color
oldhouseonline.com - Brian D. Coleman
Mediterranean color meets Craftsman design in a joyfully restored house in Portland, Oregon.This kitchen is in a 1906 Craftsman house in the …
Art Tile and Everyday Tile
oldhouseonline.com - Regina Cole
How to combine art tile with production tile to create a unique installation.Art tile is in fact art, and the cost can be steep if a project calls …