The Historic District

Beautiful! And I finally found my house's kindred spirit on this forum! I also have an 1860s brick Italianate farmhouse (in Ohio), though mine is L-shaped. I recognize many similar details in both our homes. Same sidelights and transom around the entry door. Very similar staircase. The forum has sav...

I'm not sure I understand the roofing question either. The standing seam on the main body of the house looks great to me. Is it so shiny because it's new? This should certainly dissipate with time. Is the roof on the porch and the bay window rubber? I have a large addition jutting from my Italianate...

That is beautiful, and it looks like the current owners aren't remotely taking advantage of those amazing porches!

jrc - I'll have to save that link. I used to have a smaller copper hood, and one day I did try a combination of different household items. I'd completely forgotten about that until now though. If memory serves, I tried a mix of salt and lemon juice, and a mix of salt and vinegar - one mix on each en...

I never thought about a toothbrush! And for some reason, this really cracked me up this morning: I don't think you would/could get black stuff on your hands from handling copper, tarnished or not. The discoloration on the copper is a chemical thing, and unless your hands are also made of copper, it ...

Not to hijack the thread, but I have an enormous standing seam copper hood over both my range and the countertops on either side. When we first moved in I used a whole bottle of Brasso and still only shined up less than half of it. I always had plans to seal it once I got it completely clean, and th...

Thank for taking the time to condense the history! I'm so jealous that you have so much information available. We have a single photo of our home, copied from a slide from the 1950s, and an extremely ramshackle oral history (with lots of holes) - and ours is a home that hasn't left my husband's fami...

I remember you (and the missing newel post light) from OHW! Do you have page with more of the history? Just looking through the pictures, I want more of the story! So was Agnes Vincent an only child? How old were her parents (they look much older than the average first time parents). How did you com...

I'm going to amend my comments and agree with Don. When I read your post the first time, I missed the part where both the new and replacement doors were oak. I thought they were two different woods. I'd try to match the new finish to the old, and if it doesn't work you can always paint the new doors.

I don't have any knowledge of historical accuracy in this instance, though I will say I've personally never seen pocket doors painted or with a faux grain. This could be regional, though. I've also never seen stained pocket doors with painted trim, though I admit many of the pocket doors I've seen h...