Lacquered Life • Olivia M. Brock
Laurietta Plantation, c. 1825 Fayette, Mississippi. 
And three years and a lot of love later, the after … 
And people wonder why I’m a preservationist. Happy Friday!
Photos via Country Living Magazine
As a preservationist, I love when people make modern additions to historic homes. Instead of feeling as though they can’t live in a piece of history, they respect that piece of history and adapt it to their more modern lifestyles. Case in point, this c. 1875 double fronted Victorian in Richmond, England. Typical of the time period, this home had large formal rooms in the front, and the rooms that are more important for 21st century life – like the kitchen – were small and dark. Well looking at this beautiful front door and its surround, you wouldn’t think that the rear of the house looked like this … 
What is so wonderful about this addition, is that there is absolutely no confusion about what part of the house is old and what part of the house is new. Often, when people make additions to historic homes, it is unclear to the visitor what is old and what is new. As preservationists, we believe that you should be able to distinguish between the old and the new. 
An addition like this allows the family the wide open, functional, modern spaces they craved … 
While retaining, and not truly altering, many of the original 19th century elements of the home. So, what do you think?
In today’s NY Times is an article entitled, “It’s All 1810 to Them.” Obviously, I took one look at that title and knew the article was for me. This home, built in 1810, is located in Stockton, NJ, and has been painstakingly restored over the last five years by its owners, John & Judy Hobday, down to the antique nails in the floor. Although not everything is original to the structure, it all dates to either to the 18th or early 19th centuries.
The Hobdays added the fireplace to the house, constructing it from stones found on the property.
The mantel for the new fireplace dates to the 1790s.
The door, its lock, and keys are all 18th century, and are not original to the house. 
The tiger maple bed and bedside tables are custom. And as you can tell from the four poster bed, the ceilings in the Hobday’s house are barely seven feet high. And while the rooms and the structure are obviously historic, they also feel surprisingly modern. 
Next up for the Hobday’s? The restoration of an 18th century outbuilding on a property as a studio for Judy. A project like this is a true labor of love, and not cheap. The Hobday’s five year renovation came in at just over $1 million. However, to a preservationist like me, the rewards for doing a project like this far outweigh the costs. Which probably explains why I live in a city full of potential projects like this one.
For the full article, visit NYTimes.com here.
Photos via NY Times