Adding Old House Soul To New Construction

 In 2002, when my husband and I decided to have a new house constructed , neither one of us really knew what to expect.  We added what we thought were acceptable classic old house upgrades such as archways, some crown moulding, and wainscotting. What we did not realize at the time was how void of history the house would actually feel . We recognized naturally, new homes are void of history because they are waiting  for the memories  to begin. Yet, something still always felt like it was missing. So, slowly but surely, we searched, and searched, and then searched some more for perfect old house items to incorporate into our home to give it that sense of history (albeit borrowed from the history of other peoples homes).


When choosing our old house salvaged items, it was important to be selective, and have some sort of plan. Our plan stemmed from watching many, many films in which old houses were featured as part of the overall setting.  We chose to watch these films with great intensity in order to determine which architectural images gave the movie homes the most character. From this, we realized what elements of old house we wanted our home to feel like. Our plan has changed from time to time as our taste and budget has changed, but I  do believe the elements  we  have added have given old house impact.  It is also important to note that  in some cases an old house reproduction of an element  may in fact be the better choice than the original old house item. Such a choice was made by us when we chose to replace our builder grade front door with a custom designed, historically inspired, mahogany and leaded glass door. Often times wonderful old salvaged items are not energy efficient  nor can they withstand additional wear and tear from the elements. This is when the decision of old vs. reproduction  must be made. My husband and I feel a responsibility to preserve the old house items we have obtained, so we have chosen to display them in a fashion in which has little deterioration from the elements .

 How we decided where to spend our dollars so we would achieve the most bang for our buck( so they say) came from our thoughts on which room was most important to us, and which room we spent the most time in. Ultimately, we decided upon our kitchen. As important as  old house character was to us, we also wanted the kitchen to look as though it were part of an existing old house with us adding modern appliances for an updated look. Basically we have all of what we like the look of in old, mixed in with what look  we love in the new.

 Our key old house elements in our kitchen are the beaded inset custom painted maple cabinets, antique latches, vintage drawer pulls, antique seeded glass in the cabinets, and crown molding that ties all of the woodwork together.

 All in all we are extremely happy with the results of our old house items utilized  because we enjoy our old house inspired kitchen on a daily basis. My best advice to anyone who is inspired to use old house items as part of your homes design is to plan on a style you want to emulate, and build from there.

 Old house salvaged items are available from many resources including online salvage stores, Ebay, flea markets and even yard sales. Check with your contractor before adding these items to your wish list as they often need special care in installation. With a game plan in hand, you too  can  achieve old house soul in any existing, or new home...just with a little bit of "soul" searching. ~ Nadia

* All custom cabinetry designed and produced by  MasterCraft Building And Millwork Inc