houses...

[stanci]

I am looking at repainting my porch in a few weeks (it needs it desperately), and want a plan of attack for sprucing up the rest of the house - repaint trim, shutters, etc - that doesn't involve repainting the entire house

Comments

[virginiadear]

Greetings!
I hopped on over here from a mutual friend's journal (estela_dufrayse.)

It isn't at all silly. If most of the other houses on your street were built about the same time yours was, and most of them are white, today, odds are very good that's not what they looked like in 1910.

There are a number of books out there on the subject, but see if your library hasn't got a subscription to "Arts and Crafts Houses, and the Revival" magazine.
Most of the houses they photograph and/or do articles on are in California and usually the southern half of that state at that, since that's the magazine's home.

Jane Powell is an author who's written on the subject of restoring old houses, notably A&C and Craftsman styles. Several of her books were collaborations between her and Linda Svendsen.
I'm not an expert on the subject, so my having been impressed by her writing (which strikes me as eminently sensible) might count for little to nothing, but here's her author's page at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Jane-Powell/e/B001JRYVMG/ref=sr_tc_img_2_0?qid=1286067623&sr=1-2-ent

Oh, yes: my house was built in 1916, the very last gasp of A&C movement, if I understand correctly. That, and the fact that I just enjoy seeing older architecture, is why I'm interested in what she has to say.

See what you can find of her books. They're a place to start.

And good luck to you!