Great Resources for Old House Owners and Aficionado's

I recommend watching this series. Brett does some great restoration work.

The history of kitchens in America from the beginning to the present.

Stickley advice on Building construction, design, painting, furniture, gardens etc.

A compilation of information from various books on Victorian interiors.

This book takes moldings from historic catalogs and classifies it by style and period. Brent Hull is the king of moldings for old homes.

This gizmo connects to an app on your phone. Hold it up to someone's house paint or to the color of a flower in your upholstery and get the manufacturer and color information to duplicate that color.

A wonderful website of historic house plans, designs for interiors and exteriors for homes from 1900 to about 1940.

Brent Hull has a number of videos for the homeowner who wants to restore their house correctly. Architecture - design - good versus bad moldings, etc. Everyone should watch each and every one of his videos TWICE!

Historic wallpaper for historic homes. Not much - enough for Victorian homes however. The Victorian wallpapers are William Morris designs that are really Arts & Crafts. This style was most popular in the UK and probably more popular in today's restorations that during the actual time in history. They are beautiful papers but if you want true Victorian papers you will need to search elsewhere.

A free online magazine about Arts & Crafts homes. Warning these homes are not authentic but inspired recreations. Some are not done very well either. The reader should be knowledgeable about this style before being influenced by incorrect examples.

This is a great site for someone with a Craftsman home. Lots of good information.

The Old House Journal is the MUST HAVE magazine for anyone with an older house that cares about their house. Old issues are now available for free online. You can either read an individual issue or search for a particular subject in all online issues. This is the best resource you can possibly have.

There are numerous shows about Home Improvement. What these shows call improvement is usually making a mess of a decent home. This Old House started it all but my warning includes all the home improvement shows. Do NOT go to their web site, read their magazine, or watch their TV shows. This Old House and other shows and publications are very well known and have great media exposure. Therefore they has a great influence on the public and this is dangerous. Their media can be considered educational or a learning tool to those eager to do projects on their home. UNFORTUNATELY, their message does NOT teach or promote the preservation of the historical character of one’s home. Instead they create a desire to be creative, make changes and destroy. If your lifestyle doesn’t fit your house, you should find one that does or build a new home based on historic plans. Knocking out walls, turning grand staircases around and gutting kitchens is not what old house lovers do. This is wrong on many levels. Your house represents history and you should respect that for future generations. With the influence This Old House has on the public, I fear for the future of old homes. Once it’s destroyed, it’s too late and it won’t be long before the only place you will see an authentic kitchen etc. is in a book.

by Bill Bryson, This is an EXCELLENT book. The author takes us for a room by room tour of his historic home discussing historic uses and daily living information that you would never find in any other book. This is an easy to read book that you will not want to put down. I promise.

by Hoosier Manufacturing Co. 50 plans of modern kitchens from 1917. If you want a period kitchen this is the book to follow. Paint colors included.

by Roger Moss and Gail Winkler, This is the best resource I have found so far. There is a wealth of information in a great format.

by William Seale, A collection of photos from 1860 through 1917 of real rooms in average homes that a person can relate to (not everyone wants to decorate a Newport Mansion). What better way to understand period decorating styles than by examples. Once you have gained the knowledge of decorating styles by reading Victorian Interior Decoration listed above, and combine it with the examples in this book, you will be ready to put what you learned to use to decorate your home. That’s what I did.

Similar to “The Tasteful Interlude”, this book also included some public buildings. I recommend purchasing both books.

by Charles L. Eastlake If your home was built in the period before or after 1878, and the original owners were considered to be “fashionable” for their day, this is your guide.

From the owner of The Craftsman Blog - Scott A Sidler. This book is a greatly expanded version of Old Windows Made Easy, incorporating the text of the original book as well as 120 additional pages of tutorials and information to help you dig into the details of window restoration. This book covers the basic order of operations for the standard restoration of a double hung wood window, but doesn’t stop there.

Retiring after 33 years as a math teacher Dan Miller decided to start an architectural woodworking business making elements for old houses from casings to spindles and everything in-between. He calls it The Woodworks and and specializes in old house porches.

Brent Hull has a number of videos for the homeowner who wants to restore their house correctly. Architecture - design - good versus bad moldings, etc. Everyone should watch each and every one of his videos TWICE!

The Old House Journal is the MUST HAVE magazine for anyone with an older house that cares about their house. Old issues are now available for free online. You can either read an individual issue or search for a particular subject in all online issues. This is the best resource you can possibly have.

by Bob Flexner This book has excellent reviews on Amazon. The images would be better if they were in color or more clear.

by Annie Sloan, This book will show you a variety of simple techniques to create an antique effect on furniture etc. Crakle-glazing, graining, using waxes etc. are featured for creating an antique appearance. Caution: First read the Weekend Refinisher before you mess with an antique. (you may think there is no hope for the existing finish, but in most cases you will be wrong – read it first, then thank me!)

by Pierre Finkelstein, This book will show you a variety of simple techniques to create an antique effect on furniture etc. Crakle-glazing, graining, using waxes etc. are featured for creating an antique appearance. Caution: First read the Weekend Refinisher before you mess with an antique. (you may think there is no hope for the existing finish, but in most cases you will be wrong – read it first, then thank me!)

by Ina Marx, This book contains the most information on Graining Techniques. Personally I do not like the way it reads, however it will give you all the information you will ever need. When I purchased this book it was $40.50 and I was hesitant about recommending it. Now it is half the price new. (If I had only waited). This is a good book for someone really serious about this stuff. THE PRACTICAL GUIDE TO DECORATIVE ANTIQUE EFFECTS listed above, gives you a good overview which is sufficient for most.

A Step-By-Step Guide by Bruce Johnson IF YOU ONLY BUY ONE BOOK ON Furniture Refinishing, this is the one. It will save you a lot of unnecessary work and PREVENT YOU FROM DESTROYING AN ANTIQUE. You will learn the most valuable lessons NEVER mentioned in any other book.

by George Grotz A great how-to book that shows you how to deal with particular problems with furniture and refinishing.

The Old House Journal is the MUST HAVE magazine for anyone with an older house that cares about their house. Old issues are now available for free online. You can either read an individual issue or search for a particular subject in all online issues. This is the best resource you can possibly have.

by Dan Holohan A good resource for the person with an old heating system.

by Dan Holohan, A good resource for the person with an old heating system.

by Dan Holohan, A good resource for the person with an old heating system.

Written by my friend Brian Armstrong, this book is about his aunt who grew up in South River NJ. The conflict between Brian's Mary Applegate Armstrong and her husband, David L. Armstrong Sr., is the key theme in this visual journal. Her life story was like many women of this era who were “head and shoulders” above their husband intellectually, spiritually, and morally but had to tolerate a subservient role that focused on childbearing and raising of their family. Mary was a rare woman that rebelled against a toxic marriage, left her house, and excelled living on her own terms in her own home with her children. Mary Armstrong’s remarkable life story is presented through a series of journal entries based on newspaper articles and family stories with many photos. All sides of her family’s story are featured in the book with family successes and celebrations mixed in with tales of alcohol abuse, illness, crimes, accidents, and even a lobotomy. Issues of the early twentieth century such as Prohibition, women’s rights, immigrants, religion, and education are also featured.

What a great resource. Very accurate and detailed information along with sources to help dress for the period today. I recommend subscribing to their newsletter to get information in smaller doses.

HistoricFunding.com includes over 7,000 funding sources (grants, loans, tax incentives, rebate programs, CLG funds, and easement programs), as well as work training and educational resources (apprenticeships, fellowships and internships, scholarships, and residency programs).

This gizmo connects to an app on your phone. Hold it up to someone's house paint or to the color of a flower in your upholstery and get the manufacturer and color information to duplicate that color.

See the average prices for construction.

Brent Hull has a number of videos for the homeowner who wants to restore their house correctly. Architecture - design - good versus bad moldings, etc. Everyone should watch each and every one of his videos TWICE!

Source for restoring antique and vintage stoves and refrigerators from the 20’s to the 60’s.

A great resource to date what you have or find out what you need for your turn of the century home. Need window shades? See what was available in 1897. If it was sold by Sears, you can be sure it was a popular item. I can bet you will look at this catalog from cover to cover. Unfortunately items are not available to order. Please do not submit order form.

by Bill Bryson, This is an EXCELLENT book. The author takes us for a room by room tour of his historic home discussing historic uses and daily living information that you would never find in any other book. This is an easy to read book that you will not want to put down. I promise.

by Jane Jacobs, Jane Jacobs, an editor and writer on architecture in New York City in the early sixties, argued that urban diversity and vitality were being destroyed by powerful architects and city planners. This book will help you understand why development we see just does not work.

by Ken Roginski of Old House Guy LLC, An old house with a modern kitchen does not work. The secret is to maintain the flow as you move throughout the house. These E-book provides instructions on how to convert your modern refrigerator into an antique icebox.

by Martin Lindstrom, If we could only advertise to promote the restoration of windows etc. as manufacturers promote their plastic products! Here is a book showing how we get brain-washed.

I recommend watching this series. Brett does some great restoration work.

A compilation of information from various books on Victorian interiors.

From the owner of The Craftsman Blog - Scott A Sidler. This book is a greatly expanded version of Old Windows Made Easy, incorporating the text of the original book as well as 120 additional pages of tutorials and information to help you dig into the details of window restoration. This book covers the basic order of operations for the standard restoration of a double hung wood window, but doesn’t stop there.

I highly recommend Gary Katz who writes a lot of very informative articles and provides detailed instructions for the carpenter that works on old houses. When you click on the link you will see a page with a lot of topic boxes. Make sure you check out the box at the far bottom "This is Carpentry".

Retiring after 33 years as a math teacher Dan Miller decided to start an architectural woodworking business making elements for old houses from casings to spindles and everything in-between. He calls it The Woodworks and and specializes in old house porches.

Brent Hull has a number of videos for the homeowner who wants to restore their house correctly. Architecture - design - good versus bad moldings, etc. Everyone should watch each and every one of his videos TWICE!

The Old House Journal is the MUST HAVE magazine for anyone with an older house that cares about their house. Old issues are now available for free online. You can either read an individual issue or search for a particular subject in all online issues. This is the best resource you can possibly have.

There are numerous shows about Home Improvement. What these shows call improvement is usually making a mess of a decent home. This Old House started it all but my warning includes all the home improvement shows. Do NOT go to their web site, read their magazine, or watch their TV shows. This Old House and other shows and publications are very well known and have great media exposure. Therefore they has a great influence on the public and this is dangerous. Their media can be considered educational or a learning tool to those eager to do projects on their home. UNFORTUNATELY, their message does NOT teach or promote the preservation of the historical character of one’s home. Instead they create a desire to be creative, make changes and destroy. If your lifestyle doesn’t fit your house, you should find one that does or build a new home based on historic plans. Knocking out walls, turning grand staircases around and gutting kitchens is not what old house lovers do. This is wrong on many levels. Your house represents history and you should respect that for future generations. With the influence This Old House has on the public, I fear for the future of old homes. Once it’s destroyed, it’s too late and it won’t be long before the only place you will see an authentic kitchen etc. is in a book.

Scott Sidler knows and works on restoring old houses. He has an excellent blog with very informative articles that every old homeowner should know. You seriously need to subscribe to his blog.

Architectural metalwork care and guides. These guides help the homeowner understand and care for historic metalwork.

A community discussion forum for home improvement and repairs. Although not geared to historic homes, it is a resource for general house repair questions.

Huge listing of resources for the old house owner. Also a database of historic houses that were once for sale - searchable by year, style, location, etc.

A great site for looking at examples of historic homes that are currently or were once for sale. Not all are done correctly but if you have a similar house and don't know what type of interior trim etc would be appropriate for the style and period this site will really help you.

You don't need to be house hunting to look at some great and some not so great historic houses. There is also an archive of homes that sold.

A curated, online historic house marketplace that showcases the most beautiful old homes for sale all across the country. Also check out their magazine articles. They also did a feature on my restoration.

Huge listing of resources for the old house owner. Also a database of historic houses that were once for sale - searchable by year, style, location, etc.

Various styles of architecture by period in the form of a poster.

Stickley advice on Building construction, design, painting, furniture, gardens etc.

Check out an aerial view of your house. You can do this for free but you will get the watermark.

See the average prices for construction.

Retiring after 33 years as a math teacher Dan Miller decided to start an architectural woodworking business making elements for old houses from casings to spindles and everything in-between. He calls it The Woodworks and and specializes in old house porches.

Online resource of historic products, manufacturers, and services. Traditional Building is a free magazine subscription. Most houses are way high end which I don't care for but the advertisements are great. They provide information on places to purchase what you need for a historic house. Otherwise it show a lot of very expensive, new, well designed traditional architecture.

The Old House Journal is the MUST HAVE magazine for anyone with an older house that cares about their house. Old issues are now available for free online. You can either read an individual issue or search for a particular subject in all online issues. This is the best resource you can possibly have.

Roger W. Moss is a historian, educator, research library director, and preservationist. He headed The Athenaeum of Philadelphia (1968-2008), taught in the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation at The University of Pennsylvania School of Design (1980-2005), and has written a dozen books and scores of introductions, pamphlets, annual reports and book reviews. In 1981 Roger and his wife, Gail Caskey Winkler, established LCA Associates, a design firm specializing in the restoration and recreation of historic interiors. The Athenaeum's collections include architecture and interior design history, particularly for the period 1800 to 1945. The institution focuses on the history of American architecture and building technology, and houses architectural archives of 180,000 drawings, over 350,000 photographs, and manuscript holdings of about 1,000 American architects. The largest collection of original paint sources in America is owned by The Athenaeum of Philadelphia. Aside from professional services, Roger recommends a number of books for the old house restorer.

There are numerous shows about Home Improvement. What these shows call improvement is usually making a mess of a decent home. This Old House started it all but my warning includes all the home improvement shows. Do NOT go to their web site, read their magazine, or watch their TV shows. This Old House and other shows and publications are very well known and have great media exposure. Therefore they has a great influence on the public and this is dangerous. Their media can be considered educational or a learning tool to those eager to do projects on their home. UNFORTUNATELY, their message does NOT teach or promote the preservation of the historical character of one’s home. Instead they create a desire to be creative, make changes and destroy. If your lifestyle doesn’t fit your house, you should find one that does or build a new home based on historic plans. Knocking out walls, turning grand staircases around and gutting kitchens is not what old house lovers do. This is wrong on many levels. Your house represents history and you should respect that for future generations. With the influence This Old House has on the public, I fear for the future of old homes. Once it’s destroyed, it’s too late and it won’t be long before the only place you will see an authentic kitchen etc. is in a book.

The aim of the WPA is to include all who want to help change the conversation about windows. We want to connect those who wish to save their windows with professionals who can provide the needed services. We want to demystify the process of finding the appropriate materials and products for window restoration. We want to introduce those considering window restoration as a career to professionals who can help them grow. Our goal is to help preservationists find the tools they need to educate building owners, architects, and other decision makers about the value of original windows.

This site features a huge listing of products for the historic home. Also included are specialty contractors, preservation consultants, and preservation radio podcasts.

A UK site with information focusing on Arts & Crafts interiors.

Once a house has their original windows replaced the house is considered damaged. Before you do anything you MUST read https://www.oldhouseguy.com/windows/. Need your windows repaired or restored. How about a carpenter with historic house specialization. We have a listing by Country – State. These people specialize in Windows but they may also do other restoration work. If not maybe they can refer you to someone else.

The name is just what it says. You can find a link for anything preservation related that you need to know at this site. Highly Recommended!

A forum with a group of long time restoration enthusiasts and old home owners to help with any old home advise you need.

Retiring after 33 years as a math teacher Dan Miller decided to start an architectural woodworking business making elements for old houses from casings to spindles and everything in-between. He calls it The Woodworks and and specializes in old house porches.

Online resource of historic products, manufacturers, and services. Traditional Building is a free magazine subscription. Most houses are way high end which I don't care for but the advertisements are great. They provide information on places to purchase what you need for a historic house. Otherwise it show a lot of very expensive, new, well designed traditional architecture.

Is your front porch missing or does it need to be restored? I have written an 89 page e-book to guide you in your restoration. This information picks up from the information about Porches here on my website which you should read first. It also includes many links to other resources such as complete archived historic builders catalogs. See our table of contents.

The Standards are a series of concepts about maintaining, repairing, and replacing historic materials, as well as designing new additions or making alterations. The Guidelines offer general design and technical recommendations to assist in applying the Standards to a specific property. Together, they provide a framework and guidance for decision-making about work or changes to a historic property.

Historic districts and preservation ordinances and their impact on house prices. This is the best thing for your neighborhood.

Highly recommended. This Library of Congress resource has put online the HABS – Historic American Building Surveys. This was a government project in the 1930’s. Architectural drawings from historic buildings are available in hard copy which can provide a wealth of knowledge. For example: what kind of door knobs were used in New England in 1842. This site takes some playing around with.

The US Dept. of the Interiors Technical Preservation Services develops historic preservation standards and guidance on preserving and rehabilitating historic buildings and sets the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. This website has: -Guidelines for the Standards of Rehabilitation and treatment of historic properties. -Webinars and online training. -Energy efficiency for historic buildings. -Tax credits, and more.

The National Park Service – Department of Interior provides a Technical Preservation Service. Writers working under contract with the federal government have assembled 50 free booklets designed to help homeowners and developers recognize and resolve common preservation and repair problems. A must read! Before you start a project, you should first refer to these bulletins.

This is the link for the Action Center to speak up for the places that matter to you.

This gizmo connects to an app on your phone. Hold it up to someone's house paint or to the color of a flower in your upholstery and get the manufacturer and color information to duplicate that color.

Online resource of historic products, manufacturers, and services. Traditional Building is a free magazine subscription. Most houses are way high end which I don't care for but the advertisements are great. They provide information on places to purchase what you need for a historic house. Otherwise it show a lot of very expensive, new, well designed traditional architecture.

Find products and design inspiration to remodel and decorate your home in mid-century and vintage style.

There are numerous shows about Home Improvement. What these shows call improvement is usually making a mess of a decent home. This Old House started it all but my warning includes all the home improvement shows. Do NOT go to their web site, read their magazine, or watch their TV shows. This Old House and other shows and publications are very well known and have great media exposure. Therefore they has a great influence on the public and this is dangerous. Their media can be considered educational or a learning tool to those eager to do projects on their home. UNFORTUNATELY, their message does NOT teach or promote the preservation of the historical character of one’s home. Instead they create a desire to be creative, make changes and destroy. If your lifestyle doesn’t fit your house, you should find one that does or build a new home based on historic plans. Knocking out walls, turning grand staircases around and gutting kitchens is not what old house lovers do. This is wrong on many levels. Your house represents history and you should respect that for future generations. With the influence This Old House has on the public, I fear for the future of old homes. Once it’s destroyed, it’s too late and it won’t be long before the only place you will see an authentic kitchen etc. is in a book.

Architectural elements for your home and great information to go with it.

I recommend watching this series. Brett does some great restoration work.

Although there are other books about renovating old houses, this is the first that prioritizes the identification and preservation of the historic, character-defining features of a house as a starting point in the process. That is the purpose of this book: to describe and illustrate a best-practices approach for updating historic homes for modern life in ways that do not attempt to turn an old house into a new one.

A compilation of information from various books on Victorian interiors.

Check out an aerial view of your house. You can do this for free but you will get the watermark.

This book takes moldings from historic catalogs and classifies it by style and period. Brent Hull is the king of moldings for old homes.

The ultimate book for old house owners! Filled with dozens of full color tutorials of the most common repairs you’ll face, this book gives you the information you need to navigate living in an old house. There is an ebook and a paper book at a higher price.

From the owner of The Craftsman Blog - Scott A Sidler. This book is a greatly expanded version of Old Windows Made Easy, incorporating the text of the original book as well as 120 additional pages of tutorials and information to help you dig into the details of window restoration. This book covers the basic order of operations for the standard restoration of a double hung wood window, but doesn’t stop there.

I highly recommend Gary Katz who writes a lot of very informative articles and provides detailed instructions for the carpenter that works on old houses. When you click on the link you will see a page with a lot of topic boxes. Make sure you check out the box at the far bottom "This is Carpentry".

Retiring after 33 years as a math teacher Dan Miller decided to start an architectural woodworking business making elements for old houses from casings to spindles and everything in-between. He calls it The Woodworks and and specializes in old house porches.

Brent Hull has a number of videos for the homeowner who wants to restore their house correctly. Architecture - design - good versus bad moldings, etc. Everyone should watch each and every one of his videos TWICE!

Is your front porch missing or does it need to be restored? I have written an 89 page e-book to guide you in your restoration. This information picks up from the information about Porches here on my website which you should read first. It also includes many links to other resources such as complete archived historic builders catalogs. See our table of contents.

The Old House Journal is the MUST HAVE magazine for anyone with an older house that cares about their house. Old issues are now available for free online. You can either read an individual issue or search for a particular subject in all online issues. This is the best resource you can possibly have.

The Standards are a series of concepts about maintaining, repairing, and replacing historic materials, as well as designing new additions or making alterations. The Guidelines offer general design and technical recommendations to assist in applying the Standards to a specific property. Together, they provide a framework and guidance for decision-making about work or changes to a historic property.

This website has been in SERIOUS need of a makeover for many many years and much of the great information it had is no longer available. The forum section can still be a great resource for helping owners, tradespeople, contractors and professionals understand and maintain their historic buildings. Hopefully someone will reply if you post a question - it is worth a try but don't expect much. The owner has been unresponsive to their clients putting them in a difficult situation after being hired. As for the website, It looks very doubtful but I'm hoping for a comeback of this site.

A good resource for information focusing on American bungalow homes.

by Mark Alan Hewitt and Gordon Bock. Both authors were teachers of mine at Drew University’s Historic Preservation program. This book is best for those considering an addition to their home.

by Jane Powell and Linda Svendsen, Many bungalow homes are neglected, thinking they rank below Victorian restoration. This book allows one to appreciated their architectural details to properly restore these homes back to what they were meant to be.

by Steve Jordan, In this book Steve Jordan covers traditional methods and the latest in modern high-tech materials and techniques. This is a How-To book providing detailed instructions for the average homeowner to restore their windows.

by George Nash, Old houses are different than new houses in many ways. Although modern technology may be good, it is not a fix-all solution. If you do the work yourself or hire someone, it is best to be informed on the proper method. You are the steward responsible for the future of your home so you really need to do it right.

by Stephen Mouzon, I have 2 #1 recommended book for traditional design. This book and "Get Your House Right". Both are important to have however. The Do’s and Don’ts of design. If only contractors and architects today would follow the Principals and Rules of architecture, today’s buildings would be so much more aesthetically pleasing to look at. This book will train your eyes enabling you to be able to critique architecture by showing you several correct and several incorrect versions of a certain feature.

by Marianne Cusato, I have two #1 books for understanding traditional design. Along with this book the other is "Traditional Construction Patterns". There are many architectural rules to understand. This book is full of easy to follow illustrations showing the wrong way and the correct way elements of a house should be designed and explains it well.

I used to personally recommend the Old House Journal for everyone owning a home built from 1760-1960. Currently the restorations are not up to my standards and all interiors are new and contemporary looking minus a few antiques. This was once an educational magazine. Pre 2010 complete issues can be found online. This is the goldmine.

by Peter Blake. God's Own Junkyard is a book by Peter Blake about the planned deterioration of the American landscape. I also have a blog article on this book.

HistoricFunding.com includes over 7,000 funding sources (grants, loans, tax incentives, rebate programs, CLG funds, and easement programs), as well as work training and educational resources (apprenticeships, fellowships and internships, scholarships, and residency programs).

Let your doggie be your spokesperson. Historic house remuddlers will be bitten! Woof!

by Jane Jacobs, Jane Jacobs, an editor and writer on architecture in New York City in the early sixties, argued that urban diversity and vitality were being destroyed by powerful architects and city planners. This book will help you understand why development we see just does not work.

Be a walking billboard for preservation! You can save history! Choose Save Our Old Homes or Windows This shirt is 2 sided. It comes in long sleeve, hoodie, etc. in many colors including distressed. Click image for important detailed instructions for wearing.

Bring this mug to work and pretend to accidentally forget it on your co-workers desk. Eventually they will get the idea. If they don’t, just refer them to OldHouseGuy.com website.

Advocacy for preservation of old houses starts early. Babies don’t need to talk because this special pacifier says it all. Text can be modified with babies name. This is the perfect gift for a baby – get them started promoting preservation with this pacifier. Studies are pending to show that extended use will make your child into a famous historic preservation architect.

A refrigerator magnet will help make your point when gifted to someone that is considering replacing their windows. A great gift for your Code Enforcement officer or the window replacement guy down the street.

This book takes moldings from historic catalogs and classifies it by style and period. Brent Hull is the king of moldings for old homes.

A wonderful website of historic house plans, designs for interiors and exteriors for homes from 1900 to about 1940.

This is a great site for someone with a Craftsman home. Lots of good information.

This is a reprint of a 1910 Sears Builder’s Catalog. Just because you don’t have a Sears House, doesn’t mean your home didn’t have Sears hardware and products. Books such as these are a great resource for the old house owner. I have the same door knobs and hinges featured in the book throughout my house.

by The Mulliner Box & Planing Co. This is a reprint of a 1893 catalog for the Mulliner Box & Planning Company. Great for dating a house, seeing what styles were available at the time for restorations, and interesting enough for just browsing.

by E.L. Roberts & Co. This is a reprint of a 1903 catalog for Roberts' Millwork. Great for dating a house, seeing what styles were available at the time for restorations, and interesting enough for just browsing.

by Richard O. Byrne. This is a reprint of a 1903 catalog. Great for dating a house, seeing what styles were available at the time for restorations, and interesting enough for just browsing. Has color photos of stained glass windows that were available.

Huge listing of resources for the old house owner. Also a database of historic houses that were once for sale - searchable by year, style, location, etc.

I recommend watching this series. Brett does some great restoration work.

Although there are other books about renovating old houses, this is the first that prioritizes the identification and preservation of the historic, character-defining features of a house as a starting point in the process. That is the purpose of this book: to describe and illustrate a best-practices approach for updating historic homes for modern life in ways that do not attempt to turn an old house into a new one.

Various styles of architecture by period in the form of a poster.

Stickley advice on Building construction, design, painting, furniture, gardens etc.

The author points out and comments on the bad architecture and design of McMansions.

This site is great for the person that would like an introduction to architecture and the different styles of architecture etc.

This book takes moldings from historic catalogs and classifies it by style and period. Brent Hull is the king of moldings for old homes.

by Virginia Savage McAlester. This is a must have book for identifying for example the proper window casing and trim for a particular style house. There are numerous examples and lots of details. This book was recently re-issued to include homes built after the 1920's.

A wonderful website of historic house plans, designs for interiors and exteriors for homes from 1900 to about 1940.

Retiring after 33 years as a math teacher Dan Miller decided to start an architectural woodworking business making elements for old houses from casings to spindles and everything in-between. He calls it The Woodworks and and specializes in old house porches.

Brent Hull has a number of videos for the homeowner who wants to restore their house correctly. Architecture - design - good versus bad moldings, etc. Everyone should watch each and every one of his videos TWICE!

A free online magazine about Arts & Crafts homes. Warning these homes are not authentic but inspired recreations. Some are not done very well either. The reader should be knowledgeable about this style before being influenced by incorrect examples.

This is a great site for someone with a Craftsman home. Lots of good information.

SAH Archipedia is an authoritative online encyclopedia of the U.S. built environment organized by the Society of Architectural Historians and the University of Virginia Press. It contains histories, photographs, and maps for over 20,000 structures and places. These are mostly buildings, but as you explore SAH Archipedia you will also find landscapes, infrastructure, monuments, artwork, and more.

Online resource of historic products, manufacturers, and services. Traditional Building is a free magazine subscription. Most houses are way high end which I don't care for but the advertisements are great. They provide information on places to purchase what you need for a historic house. Otherwise it show a lot of very expensive, new, well designed traditional architecture.

Is your front porch missing or does it need to be restored? I have written an 89 page e-book to guide you in your restoration. This information picks up from the information about Porches here on my website which you should read first. It also includes many links to other resources such as complete archived historic builders catalogs. See our table of contents.

The Old House Journal is the MUST HAVE magazine for anyone with an older house that cares about their house. Old issues are now available for free online. You can either read an individual issue or search for a particular subject in all online issues. This is the best resource you can possibly have.

The Standards are a series of concepts about maintaining, repairing, and replacing historic materials, as well as designing new additions or making alterations. The Guidelines offer general design and technical recommendations to assist in applying the Standards to a specific property. Together, they provide a framework and guidance for decision-making about work or changes to a historic property.

Sadly today most architects have no clue of how to design a home that looks good. This is evident in just about all the homes built since the 1980's. This author does the same thing that I do for homeowners. Architectural mistakes are corrected using Photoshop. The author explains what is wrong and makes corrections drastically improving the design of the house. This book should be required for the many ignorant architects that destroy our neighborhoods with their expensive and bad designs.

There are numerous shows about Home Improvement. What these shows call improvement is usually making a mess of a decent home. This Old House started it all but my warning includes all the home improvement shows. Do NOT go to their web site, read their magazine, or watch their TV shows. This Old House and other shows and publications are very well known and have great media exposure. Therefore they has a great influence on the public and this is dangerous. Their media can be considered educational or a learning tool to those eager to do projects on their home. UNFORTUNATELY, their message does NOT teach or promote the preservation of the historical character of one’s home. Instead they create a desire to be creative, make changes and destroy. If your lifestyle doesn’t fit your house, you should find one that does or build a new home based on historic plans. Knocking out walls, turning grand staircases around and gutting kitchens is not what old house lovers do. This is wrong on many levels. Your house represents history and you should respect that for future generations. With the influence This Old House has on the public, I fear for the future of old homes. Once it’s destroyed, it’s too late and it won’t be long before the only place you will see an authentic kitchen etc. is in a book.

A good resource for information focusing on American bungalow homes.

by Mark Alan Hewitt and Gordon Bock. Both authors were teachers of mine at Drew University’s Historic Preservation program. This book is best for those considering an addition to their home.

by Jane Powell and Linda Svendsen, Many bungalow homes are neglected, thinking they rank below Victorian restoration. This book allows one to appreciated their architectural details to properly restore these homes back to what they were meant to be.

by Jonathan Hale, As briefly discussed in my Aesthetics page -if you ever wondered why NEW buildings pale in comparison to old buildings, this book will answer your questions. The author promotes rediscovering our aesthetic eye and how simple geometric harmony can create LIFE in a building. This book provides a basic understanding to architectural design.

by Stephen Mouzon, I have 2 #1 recommended book for traditional design. This book and "Get Your House Right". Both are important to have however. The Do’s and Don’ts of design. If only contractors and architects today would follow the Principals and Rules of architecture, today’s buildings would be so much more aesthetically pleasing to look at. This book will train your eyes enabling you to be able to critique architecture by showing you several correct and several incorrect versions of a certain feature.

by Marianne Cusato, I have two #1 books for understanding traditional design. Along with this book the other is "Traditional Construction Patterns". There are many architectural rules to understand. This book is full of easy to follow illustrations showing the wrong way and the correct way elements of a house should be designed and explains it well.

by Cyril M. Harris, A reference to architectural terms and their use.

by John J. G. Blumenson, A companion guide to the "Field Guide to American Houses".

by Leland Roth, This is the book required for my Architectural History class at Drew University.

by Richard Pratt, This book offers the homeowner guidance, details, techniques, recommendations, ideas, and examples for restoring houses in Hightstown, NJ and other areas. Many examples of porches, garages, fences, etc. I especially like the examples of porch railing styles. Rich is a great guy and we have attended historic preservation classes at Drew University.

by Hoosier Manufacturing Co. 50 plans of modern kitchens from 1917. If you want a period kitchen this is the book to follow. Paint colors included.

by Roger Moss and Gail Winkler, This is a great resource full of pictures and information. There is a lot to know about color placement on a house. An error will upset the entire balance of your house. Roger Moss and his wife Gail Winkler are experts in the field. I have attended many of their talks.

by Shannon Taylor Scarlett, The best way to explain this book is to read my page on aesthetics of architecture and design. There are rules that must be applied to building design that are no longer used which results in the bad architecture we see today. These age old rules are in this book.

This book is not for interiors but shows all small and large homes built by Sears. A great resource for finding your house and seeing if/how it was messed up by previous owners.

This is a catalogue for kit houses. However, this book and many like this are great for interior decoration. There are pictures and layout of rooms – excellent for decorating a 1917 period home. Notice there are no coffee tables.

This is a catalogue for kit houses. However, this book and many like this are great for interior decoration. There are pictures and layout of rooms – excellent for decorating a 1926 period home. Notice there are no coffee tables.