The Editor wishes to extend a personal invitation to all readers of House and Garden to send to the 
Correspondence Department, inquiries on any matter pertaining to house finishing and furnishing. Care¬ 
ful consideration is given each inquiry, the letter and answer being published in due time as matters of 
interest to other readers. Where an early reply is desired if a stamp and self-addressed envelope are 
enclosed, the answer will be sent. No charge whatever is made for any advice given. 
REMODELING OF AN OLD HOUSE 
HE remodeling of an old house is a subject ol 
w ide interest to those people who, through 
stress of circumstances or through choice, 
must take the old house and “ do it over.” Some 
of the most livable and artistic houses w e know have 
in a previous period differed w holly from the impos¬ 
ing, roomy, and beautiful structures into which they 
have been converted. 
The ordinary square brick or frame house, built 
with a central hall and rooms on either side, has no 
particular claims to beauty or convenience, but to 
such may be added well-balanced wings or wide 
verandas, with stately columns, an attractive entrance, 
a bay window thrown out, a group of casement 
latticed windows,—and lo! the old house has taken 
on an air and charm that is most difficult to secure 
in an entirely new one. 
Where such structural changes are made, the body 
of the house, whether of brick or frame, will in most 
instances, require painting or staining, that there 
may be one harmonious tone. 
The work of remodeling the interior is not often 
difficult, and by a small expenditure of money it may 
be comparatively easy to obtain most satisfactory 
results. As, for instance, in the widening of a small 
door into a spacious square opening or in the com¬ 
plete removal of a dividing partition between two 
rooms, beautiful effects may be secured and charm¬ 
ing vistas opened up. 
In many of the moderately old houses small 
detached rooms seem to prevail, these giving an 
unattractive and inhospitable appearance to the 
interior. By throwing these rooms together and 
obtaining a vista, even though it be a limited one, the 
interior will be completely metamorphosed. 
In very many of these houses, the woodwork, 
paneling, doors etc., is of good design, but often an 
impossible combination of drab and yellow brown 
paint was used, or other equally ugly, highly var¬ 
nished effects. Often one finds that oak, cherry or 
other hard woods have been painted. In this case 
a thorough treatment with varnish remover is 
unhesitatingly recommended. There are such 
removers now on the market as will completely 
cleanse both floors and standing woodwork, allowing 
one to treat them as new wood. If the wood has 
received a great many coats of paint and is not a hard 
w r ood or one which will show to particular advan¬ 
tage under stain, it is usually advisable to use a 
paint or enamel. The ivory tone of white enamel 
is a good choice for living-rooms, and in many bed¬ 
rooms is desirable. Where these latter rooms are 
small, an excellent treatment is to use a paint match¬ 
ing the wall-paper in color. This adds greatly to 
the apparent size of the room. 
The treatment of ceilings is another important 
matter. Where these are so badly cracked as to 
preclude successful repair and new plastering is not 
to be considered, they should be covered with muslin, 
canvas or heavily sized burlap glued on and tinted as 
plaster would be. When ivory paint is used for the 
standing woodwork an ivory tint for the ceiling looks 
well. 
The floors are a most necessary feature to be 
renewed when an old house is rejuvenated. In 
most cases the old ones will be found to be soft w 7 ood 
and where they have not been kept continually 
covered with carpets, etc., wall be found to be w^orn 
very thin in places where much use has been given 
them. In such places the boards should be removed 
and the places filled with others of the original thick¬ 
ness, so that it will be comparatively true and level. 
After all other work about the house is completed 
a heavy building paper should be laid on the old 
floor over which the new flooring should be laid. 
This may be of hard wood such as oak, beech, etc., 
or it may be of selected riff-sawed Southern pine 
(long-leaf). In any event, the flooring must be ol 
absolutely seasoned material, carefully driven together 
and blind-nailed. The old thresholds of the interior 
doorways should be removed and the flooring run 
194 
