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August 10, 2006

Introducing the New Old House

house
The Times picks up on an interesting trend: People wanting the charm of the old with the convenience, cleanness and reliability of the new. There's now a magazine riding this trend called New Old House and designers and contractors offering off-the-shelf kits to build your own. While we fantasize about designing and building our own country house some day almost entirely our of architectural salvage, the homes described in the article sound more like new houses with a few old details (like radiators and floors) thrown in. Not our bag, but then again there are times we certainly can relate to the desire not to have to deal with the many headaches that a real old house can present.
The New Old House [NY Times]




Posted by Brownstoner at 9:52 AM | Comments (5)
Categories: Architecture

Comments

This article reminds me of a company I worked for on Nantucket way back in (gasp) 1987. Weather Hill Restoration was a bunch of savvy Vermont hippies who would take apart old New England farmhouses and then build luxury houses on Nantucket using all the pieces. Floorboards, doors, beams, etc. They also put in modern touches like radian heating and top line kitchens. One of the great things they did was use a lot of antique tools and techniques on the houses. It was a great learning experience for me.

Posted by: Whitbo at August 10, 2006 10:56 AM

Sounds like fun. Ah, 1987.

Posted by: brownstoner at August 10, 2006 11:48 AM

This is a common practice in the world of high end guitars. There are tons of boutique builders who spend months beating and bruising brand new guitars and then selling them as "relics" for thousands more than new.

Posted by: clintonhillkevin at August 10, 2006 12:59 PM

I wanted to build a new house made from recycled materials. That's my next project. Anyone ever been to Wings Castle in Millbrook? This guy built himself a castle (DIY) from reclaimed materials and it's F'in awesome! The swimming pool is a moat. I think it's up for sale.

Posted by: yente at August 10, 2006 1:07 PM

I would totally love a modern house (proper electric, central heat/air, wired for cable, fully finished basement, etc.) with all the details and charm of an old house (room with doors, carved wood trim, high ceilings, tons of molding and plaster details, etc.)

I loath modern builds will their lack of details, huge open 'great rooms'.

Posted by: Arsenic and Old Lace at August 10, 2006 2:42 PM

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