Historic House Blog

In honor of Halloween’s fast approaching, we thought we would address the issue of “haunted houses” and real estate.  Ghosts and the paranormal are certainly not limited to “historic” houses.  But let’s face it . . . historic houses almost inevitably have some kind of story tied to them.  Whether it’s a dramatic legend about a murder in the [...]

One of the most fascinating things about historic homes is their unique story — and sometimes even the historical artifacts — associated with the home.  Obviously, these historical tales and antique objects are powerful in connecting old house lovers with the one-of-a-kind past of their historic home.  They also can be powerful marketing points when offering a historic property on the market; potential [...]

A FREE workshop on historic house research is to be held at the Birmingham Public Library on Saturday, July 18th.  Sponsored by the Jefferson County Historical Commission & the Birmingham Historical Society, the event will feature 3 speakers and 2 authors who will be signing books.   The event starts at 9:30am, at the Central Library [...]

Today, while on my Twitter account, I thought it would be fun to see if people were “tweeting” at all about historic houses.  The answer, of course, is “yes!” — people are using Twitter to talk about everything.

As a REALTOR who specialized in the sale of historic homes, I always enjoyed photographing the properties I marketed for sale.  I would often take up to 100 or so pictures.  In addition to the “normal” photos of the front of the house & all of the requisite “showcase” shots of the interior, I would snap [...]

As I painted a den today for a family member, I got to thinking about paint colors & historic houses.  (Not that the house I was painting was historic . . . In fact, I was painting a 1968 Ranch style house with dark, faux panel walls (see right) . . . but still, I needed something to think about, right?).  [...]

Do you have a historic house for sale and want to elevate it a bit above its non-historic competitors ? Want your house to spark a bit of excitement and imagination in your buyers ?  How about an easy way to claim a point of pride and give your home’s marketing a distinguished feel ?  One of the [...]

“Dentil” mouldings are very common.  You can spot them on many historic houses, as well as newer homes with a classical look.  However, dentil moldings are also one of the most commonly misspelled architecture elements (especially in real estate descriptions) — and it is easy to understand why.  After all, dentil is pronounced the same as “dental.”  [...]

Whether restoring a worn down Victorian or sprucing up a Craftsman bungalow for re-sale, it is good to know where to look to find historic hardware to add that extra level of authenticity to your project.  You might know of a local architectural salvage store where you might be able to score some good material, [...]

Some of the earliest Victorian-era houses were part of an architectural movement called “Gothic Revival.”  Gothic houses in the United States were built primarily from 1840 to 1860, and are also referred to as “Carpenter Gothic,” “Rural Gothic,” and even more informally, “Gingerbread houses” – due to frilly ornamentation that is common to the style.  Andrew [...]