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Contemporary Victorian Design

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Can We Really Trust Builders and Architects? This contemporary Victorian design looks good to the untrained eye but . . . A contemporary Victorian design with numerous design errors. A Victorian Revival in need of help. Contemporary Victorian design is quite popular today and admired by the untrained eye.  But to the trained eye, as I [...]

How Psychology Can Improve Architecture

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Why do some buildings exhilarate us and make us feel like we belong when looking at them while others can feel disharmonious? Our subconscious mind determines how we perceive architecture.  What we see with our eyes interacts with our brains, consciously and unconsciously. Our brains process this data – this interplay dictates how our senses […]

Freehold History Destroyed by Preservation Commission & Architect

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Preserve Freehold History - Outcry by Residents News reports: The messages from residents were: "Once it's gone it's gone" and "Do the job you were entrusted to do - protect the town's historic resources and preserving the building is the only environmentally responsible approach”. This was the plea to the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) of [...]

The Window Sash Details – A Character-Defining Element of a Building

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Few elements of a building contribute to its architectural character than windows and window sashes. The window muntin design details differ by date. Click here to open a PDF file, for a great read by James L. Garvin of the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources on: The evolution of window sashes.  [Read more]

Old House Restoration or Remuddling?

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The newspapers said this is an old house restoration. Obviously they have no idea what they were writing about. This house received a Restoration Award by the Freehold NJ Historic Preservation Commission. A board of supposedly "qualified" people issued this award.  Let's look a bit further and see what a mess was created. What is [...]