Embracing the Maximalist Aesthetic in Historic Homes Interior design trends come and go, but maximalism is having a moment that refuses to fade. Unlike the stark simplicity of minimalist design, maximalist interiors celebrate abundance, color, texture, and personal storytelling through carefully curated objects. A stunning example can be found in a 110-year-old Edwardian home in […]
High in the northern Catskill Mountains, a remarkable 1896 Victorian summer retreat sat vacant for a decade before new owners recognized its extraordinary potential. Built originally for Joseph Keppler, the founder of Puck magazine and one of America’s most celebrated political cartoonists, this mountain house embodies the theatrical spirit of the Gilded Age summer colony
Restoring a historic home requires a careful balance between preserving original character and making necessary modern upgrades. For homeowners taking on a historic home restoration, the process involves structural assessment, woodwork preservation, and thoughtful design choices that honor the past while meeting contemporary needs. A recent restoration of a Victorian summer camp in Elka Park,
Installing wide plank wood flooring over a radiant heat system presents unique material and installation challenges. Wide planks, typically measuring 5 inches or more in width, respond differently to temperature and moisture fluctuations than narrower strip flooring. When combined with the cyclic heating and cooling of a radiant system, the risks of gapping, cupping, and
When installing a radiant floor heating system, most of the PEX tubing work disappears beneath the concrete slab. But the point where tubing enters the slab remains visible, and that transition zone poses a persistent challenge. Without proper support, tubing can kink, restrict flow, or even crack over time. The PEX-Pal system from Axiom Industries
Radiant Floor Heating for Well-Insulated Homes: Evaluating Hydronic Performance, Cost, and Comfort Tradeoffs When Lukas Smith began planning his new home in southern Ontario, he was set on installing a radiant-floor heating system. His house would be well insulated and fairly large, and warm floors seemed like the natural choice for comfortable, even heat. But
Radiant floor heating has long been recognized as one of the most comfortable and energy-efficient ways to heat a home, but traditional systems often require complex trade-offs between structural integrity, thermal performance, and ease of installation. Warmboard radiant flooring panels solve this challenge by combining the structural subfloor with integrated hydronic tubing channels and a
For centuries, linseed oil paint was the standard finish for exterior woodwork across Europe and North America. Then came synthetic alkyds and acrylics, and traditional linseed paint nearly vanished from the market. But a growing number of restoration specialists and builders are rediscovering this plant-based coating, drawn by its vapor permeability, zero-VOC formulation, and remarkable
For centuries, linseed oil paint was the standard finish for exterior woodwork across Europe and North America. Then came synthetic alkyds and acrylics, and traditional linseed paint nearly vanished from the market. But a growing number of restoration specialists and builders are rediscovering this plant-based coating, drawn by its vapor permeability, zero-VOC formulation, and remarkable
Replacing damaged or worn balusters in an existing railing is one of those renovation tasks that looks deceptively simple until you realize how the railing system was assembled. Traditional balusters have tenons on both ends that fit into holes in the handrail and tread, which means replacing a single baluster usually requires dismantling the entire
