Historic renovation is an art. It’s not simple and straightforward like building new homes. That’s why many contractors don’t want to tackle complex historic renovations in old homes; the attention to detail rachets up about 100 fold. But at Kara O’Brien Renovations, we relish this art form.
What makes it an art form, you might ask?
It’s that delicate combination of modernizing structural, foundation, and systems (electric, plumbing, HVAC) with the melding of the art of the finish. Finishes in old houses celebrate woodwork and trim, ironwork, antique tile, mantels, beautiful flooring, among many other aspects. The finishes set it apart.
Understanding the style of the house ( whether Victorian:Queen Anne, folk, Empire Style, Stick Style, Greek Revival, Aesthetic or Craftsman Bungalow, American Foursquare, Tudor) drives the design and the subsequent renovation. Anyone can install Big Box finishes, but that is not what we’re about.
For example, in one whole house Tudor renovation, we custom built the upper cabinets from the wood that we salvaged from the original roof, all heart of pine. And we crafted these cabinets with arches that echoed the original lines in the home, except that we used stained glass in the arches to give it a little panache (and the opacity to hide dishware). The lower cabinets were painted white, with flush inset drawers and doors, echoing the styling of the original built-in pantry, which we painstakingly stripped of its old paint restored.
In a folk Victorian home, we took cues from some original stained glass and built another custom piece of stained glass for the front transom. And we built the kitchen from antique heart of pine reclaimed wood, using Victorian porch posts (just like the ones supporting the porch), to support the stone island. Because nearly everyone wants a functional, modern kitchen, we can deliver that while still using select vintage materials or crafting new cabinets with historic styling and taking cues from the existing architecture.
Taking this philosophy throughout each project in an old home delivers a seamless, classic timeless appeal that unifies a dignified old structure, respecting its attributes and accenuating them where appropriate.
