Bringing New Life to Old Houses

Renovation, Restoration, Preservation, Remodeling

The interest in old farmhouses has been in full swing for several years now. With some people, like myself, there has always been a love for old homes. It makes me sad to see a house falling down. When we lived in west Texas, we saw so many old farms left abandoned, and the wind seemed to be carrying the houses and barns away bit by bit. Today, we are seeing more and more people bringing these old structures back to life.

We are working on our third old house project. We were told our house was built in 1901. Much of our house’s history is still a mystery. It still has many of its original features, and we are trying to keep as much intact as possible. It probably would have been much easier, and faster, if we would have gutted the whole house and started anew. But I want to preserve the old. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. This brings me to my topic of discussion; renovation, restoration, preservation, remodeling. What is what and which is which?

In definition:

Renovation- Repairs and updates to an area without changing it’s purpose.

This is probably the most common form of old house projects that we see.

Restoration– Restores a space to its original condition with replicas or original materials.

This we see more often with historic landmark homes and structures.

Preservation– Involves keeping a house from destruction and seeing to it that it isn’t irredeemably changed or altered. To save it, repair it and keep it as is.

Remodel- Transforms the purpose of an area.

Basically, redesigning or reconstructing a space to better suit current needs. For example, knocking out a wall and combining two rooms to create a new large kitchen.

When renovating or restoring old houses, the final appearance of the finished product is mostly considered, whereas in preservation projects, the final appearance is not the primary focus. Instead, preservation is more concerned with retaining the maximum amount of original building material; repairing, not replacing, where possible, and maintaining the quirks and character of the home. In our current old house project, we fall somewhere between renovation and preservation. We are trying to save as much of the original interior and exterior structure as possible, while creating a comfortable home for our family.

I hope you follow along for updates on our old house project and maybe start an old house project of your own.

For more on our current renovation project, see our Farmhouse Renovation archive. And please subscribe to the blog to follow along!