# HGTV’s – “RESTORED” with Brett Waterman

- Link: https://www.oldhouseguy.com/hgtv-restored/
- Published: 2023-11-06T12:00:45-05:00
- Author: Ken Roginski

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:**

 1. **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.**
 2. **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. ](https://www.oldcalifornia.com/1903-architectural-mystery.html)

[⌊historic house restoration⌉⌊historic house restoration⌉[

Before restoration. An old photo shows the porch balustrade was originally enclosed.

 

[⌊historic house restoration⌉⌊historic house restoration⌉[

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.

 

[⌊historic house restoration⌉⌊historic house restoration⌉[

Here I made corrections to the color placement keeping a light trim to allow the
original sash color to stand out and be noticed.

 

[⌊historic paint colors⌉⌊historic paint colors⌉[

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 alignment⌉⌊porch columns alignment⌉[

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.

[⌊historic railing added to porch⌉⌊historic railing added to porch⌉[

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 ](https://www.oldhouseguy.com/porch-railing-height/).
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. ](https://www.oldcalifornia.com/Brett-Waterman.html)