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As the holidays approach, finding a meaningful gift can be a challenge. This year, consider something truly special: Restoring a family heirloom. It’s more than a gift; it’s a way to honor your family’s history and pass down memories that will last long after the season ends. 

Restoring a historic home is a labor of love—a delicate balance between preserving its unique charm and incorporating modern elements to make it livable for today’s world. As passionate craftsmen, we at Old School Craftsman know that homeowners looking to blend traditional aesthetics with modern technology need solutions that honor the past while meeting the demands of the present. That’s where parametric design comes into play. 

Two fancy terms, one elegant outcome. Marquetry and parquetry may sound like high-end design jargon, but they’re age-old techniques that add a touch of luxury and craftsmanship to your home. Think of marquetry as painting with wood, creating intricate, free-flowing designs. Parquetry? That’s the geo...

Imagine the morning sun streaming through the antique stained-glass window in your home, casting colors that dance across the room. It’s a moment that ties you to the history, artistry, and soul of your space. These windows aren’t just functional—they’re a connection to something bigger. And preserving their beauty and integrity is as important as the view they offer. 

Restoring antique furniture so it can live on for generations to come is the best way to preserve the past. A master craftsman understands the methods used to build these pieces, and so only they can restore them properly.  

Wooden inlays are pieces where shapes or patterns are cut into a piece of wood then those designs are embedded into other pieces of wood. Typically, the inlay and the background are different wood types. For example, dark mahogany may inlay into a white oak background for a stark color contrast. 

Let's take a deeper dive into wooden inlays. In this post, we will discuss how you can add wooden inlays into your home, including on floors, furniture, doors, walls, ceilings, staircases, and kitchen cabinets. Keep reading to learn more about visually stunning wooden inlays. 

Victorian homes have stood the test of time in terms of popularity, and many homes built in this period still stand in near-original form to this day. Named because they were built during the reign of English monarch Queen Victoria, these homes are packed to the brim with style and craftsmanship.  

There are many ways to finish a room with little details to help make it unique. Add a touch of old fashion charm to any room through the use of mouldings and trims. These stylistic features help establish a room's theme and enhance its visual appeal.

The wooden components of historical homes are often the most elegant, and the most vulnerable. These wooden components like crown molding, baseboards, window and door casings, and more are called historic millwork, and if you own a historic home or a historic building, then you know how important it is to maintain these pieces.  

If you own a historic home, then you already know they require a little more maintenance and care than other houses. All that character and craftsmanship means you as a homeowner must be more vigilant to potential issues and aging features.  

Historic buildings and historic structures have been standing for a long time, and when they were built building codes may have been a little different.