I highly recommend the HGTV show – RESTORED. Brett Waterman restores some great old houses as they should be restored.
I am very pleased that there is a show like this and if you know me I am very critical of any work done on older homes.
Other Home & Garden shows destroy the historic integrity as architects and interior designers attempt to impress viewers as they show off their artistic remuddling inabilities.
So many people watch these shows that we should not be surprised about the damage homeowners do to their homes.
Thankfully this is not one of those usual shows.
So my purpose in writing this article is:
- To promote this show as OHG approved! I only watched a few episodes and I liked everything Brett did except throw out a great iron kitchen sink in one episode.
- To show that although he is a great restorer, the color placement was not what it should be on one of the episodes I watched.
HGTV – Season 6, Episode 2 –
“Unraveling a 1903 Architectural Mystery”
Sorry I don’t have a link for you to watch the full episode. Here is an overview.
Before restoration. An old photo shows the porch balustrade was originally enclosed.
This is the final product. Among other things, the upper porch balustrade is restored according to a historic photo. However, the contrasting porch paint color makes it look separated from the house as an after-thought.
Here I made corrections to the color placement keeping a light trim to allow the original sash color to stand out and be noticed.
Here are other colors I recommend. Homeowner wanted to keep the original dark green sash and body color. I just changed the trim and shingle color.
Look at the two center columns – they don’t look right to me. I believe they may have been moved at one time. The steps that are not original are too wide extending past the columns.
Porch columns moved.
I am surprised the two center columns are so close together and they were this way in the old photo. They still may have been changed earlier. The doorway/entrance should have hierarchy over the windows even though they have a tighter fit as shown above. To provide the feel of hierarchy, the center space between the columns should be wider than that on the sides. In the rendering above I moved each column to line up close to the ends of the gable dormer above allowing the steps to better fit in also.
Porch Balustrade?
I love the house the way it is however, the insurance company and the local code department may not due to the porch height.
Railing is the architectural height not code height.
If this is a problem then add a railing but follow my options for rail height since the hand rail should be even with the window sill which is much lower than current code. I recommend adding an extended rail and removing it after approval. There is a lot more information on my porch railing page . For a railing on the steps I recommend a black iron railing for this will not be very noticeable.
Personally I prefer the original open roof balustrade however I am a purist and believe that restoration should follow what the original designer intended which reflects the period and its Late Victorian Style – not Colonial Revival.
SADLY – this show is no longer on but episodes can be found. I never heard of it until a month ago.
Read more and see Brett Waterman’s other restoration projects.
Brett is a national treasure. Restored is the antidote to decades of remuddling shows broadcast to the masses. So many older homes were gutted and ruined because of those shows. It has been heartbreaking to watch. And even more heartbreaking to see the effects of the “inspiration” evident in old home real estate listings. So glad Brett exists. I hope his show inspires people to love and embrace (and properly restore!) old houses.
Haven’t seen this show but will give it a try.
Used to love This Old House on PBS after Bob Villa left. It seems that show deteriorated about 2012. They did a house in Bay Head, NJ to demonstrate what could be done with raising an historic house. They totally ruined a very quaint cottage. While the project was going on I walked in the house to say hello to Norm. However, I was stopped by the producer who asked me what I was doing. I explained to her that I was a fan but curious as to why they were ruining this house as they were unnecessarily raising the house so high that the end result would be totally inappropriate to the original character of the structure. She told me that they were “agnostic” to the architecture.
This house on Mount Street now sits about ten feet higher than it was originally and looks ridiculous. After that I noticed the houses they tackled weren’t even old.
I’m surprised at their response!
‘Restored’ is a fabulous show–bungalow and tile heaven!
I’ve been watching Brett’s show for a few years now – big fan. The show is actually still on (with new seasons) and can be found on the Magnolia Network which you can get through Discovery+.
He’s also very active on Instagram and Facebook and interacts with his followers.
Just wanted to let you know. =)
I’m glad you told me – thanks!
I love the final adjustment. The cedar shake looked amazing in it’s natural color and did not like the fact they wanted us to paint it. (I have the picture prior to paint) Your color adjustment is close and much better than how it sits today. I also love the rails, great idea!!