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s more and more people are buying older homes for their charm and character, it makes sense to talk about what to appreciate in those homes and what to modernize a little. The Farmhouse The Curtis home featured in this issue is a prime example of a Midwest farmhouse. By widening the doorway between the kitchen and dining room they were able to maintain the original Prairie Four Square but open up the space to create great flow and sightlines from room to room. When they enlarged the porch on the front of the house, they were able to repurpose the original posts in the doorway to the kitchen for some architec- tural detail. The Tudor We all know what a Tudor-style home looks like: Large two-story buildings with major cross gables in the middle of the home, ex- posed wooden beams, floor-to-ceiling English paneling, stucco, plaster, brick, heavy doors — very dark. Doing away with the floor-to-ceiling paneling and keeping the exposed wooden beams would be a great way to stay true to the Tudor feel while brightening and updating your home. When choosing furnish- ings, select large-scale items. Worn leather and nail heads can also capture the feel. The Ranch It is easy to maintain the intended feel of a ranch-style home. Its design is based on simplicity, openness (fewer walls), and more efficient use of space. Less is definitely more when it comes to designing spaces. Decorative detail is used almost exclusively on the exterior. Keep that large picture window as a main fea- ture on the front of the home. While trying to stay true to the architecture of your home is great, character and interest come from mixing it up a bit, too. The interior of your home should complement the exterior, but architecture can only say so much. Think of it as the cover of a book and the rooms inside as the pages of the book. Anyone How do I update my old home while keeping its character? A
Opposite page: Winnie’s “girly room” is a creative space and a reminder of her travels and family. Wood from the old cellar door was repurposed into a coat rack at the back of the house. The back porch is big and welcoming for country summer nights and coffee on brisk mornings. Above: Post renovation, the farmhouse shines in all seasons, beckoning guests during a snow in 2012. disconnected the doorbell. It will remain that way for as long as Winnie has any say in the matter. Keeping the home’s history intact is clearly important, but it’s only natural for Winnie to want a touch of her own life entwined as well. Upstairs in her girly room, Winnie displays trinkets and treasures that represent her entire life. Several replicas of the Eiffel Tower are included in the display, denoting her love for Paris. A figurine of a flight attendant sits proudly on the shelf, a gift from Winnie’s sister as a reminder of when Winnie worked for an airline. Of course, some of the trinkets are original items from the house, and that’s just how Winnie likes it. “All of these items were either given, found, inherited or bought by me in my travels,” Winnie said. “They all have stories and are all special to me.” Whether Winnie and her husband were destined to be in the house or the whole thing is a huge coincidence, there is no doubt that the couple belongs here. From the moment she arrived Win- nie has felt that she is a part of this place and part of its continuing history. She will still make improvements to the home, but always in keeping with what once was. Next on her to-do list is the installa- tion of a white picket fence as the original home had. And no matter what changes occur to the house, one thing is sure — it will never leave the family. “This is it. I’m never leaving this home,” Winnie says as she knocks on the kitchen table. “My children and my children’s children will be a part of it, and we’re keeping it in this family as far as I’m concerned. I’ve lived a lot of places and can’t imagine being anywhere else. God willing and the creek don’t rise, we’ll be here forever.” ^
walking through your home should be able to read your personality by what you have added to the structure.
-Deb
Kim is a writer, interior designer and sales rep. She is also a complete klutz that can crank out a killer cartwheel on demand. Her favorite place to write is curled up on the couch with her weiner dog and two cats fighting for a spot on her lap.
Deb Vogler has been creating her own brand of Comfort by Design for more than 15 years. She deals with all aspects of design, from budgeting, to floor plans (renovation or new construction), to furniture, to color at her full-scale design firm. Have a designing question for Deb? Send it to erin@vintagekcmag.com.
VintageKC / Winter 2013 23
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