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We are in the process of renovating a 120+ year old farmhouse in southwest Michigan. Unfortunately, it appears that in the 60’s or 70’s, the original trim was removed and “upgraded” with modern casing and baseboard. We are looking for ideas to trim several large rooms with a more period appropriate look. Any suggestions on books or web sites (preferred) that show pictures or examples of trim ideas? Thanks. John Van
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I've got a book called Turn of the Century Doors, Windows and Decorative Millwork, The Mulliner Catalog of 1893....It's loaded with ideas.....Got it at Borders last year. Try Amazon or E-bays half.com
*Hmmm. Interior trim in houses of that period tended to be all very much the same, just as it is today. Bullseye corner blocks were as ubiquitious in the 1870's and 1880's as "ranch" casing is today. Earlier Victorians--Italianate, Second Empire, Gothic Revival--most commonly had simple, elegant trim with properly classical profiles. The next generation of Victorians--Queen Anne, Stick-Style, Eastlake--more commonly had more elaborate trim in the manner of Charles Eastlake--those bullseye corner blocks and such. To me, 120+year old farmhouse sort of means classic American farmouse--sort of gothicky, gabled roof, Italianate proportions in the windows and doors, clapboard siding, maybe a little round window in the front attic gable--kinda like the house from "Beetlejuice." Is this what you have? If so, then it's probably bullseye corner blocks all the way. But...not necessarily.Dover Publications has inexpensive reprints of a few Victorian builder's guides--there's probably at least on or two of these at your local Barne's and Noble. I've got a copy of "Victorian Domestic Architectural Details"--ISBN 0486254429--floating around that contains dozens of scaled drawings of period trim and molding profiles.My unsolicited opinion: As a would-be architect and historian, one of my biggest peeves is cutesey pseudo-Victorian woodwork. You know--the fancypants sort of stuff you get at Menard's or Home Depot or wherever. That stuff isn't Victorian--it's just nauseating. To me, it's infinitely more tasteful to go with something crisp, modern, and honest, than to do something that's historically innacurate, with really bad proportions to boot.
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We are in the process of renovating a 120+ year old farmhouse in southwest Michigan. Unfortunately, it appears that in the 60's or 70's, the original trim was removed and "upgraded" with modern casing and baseboard. We are looking for ideas to trim several large rooms with a more period appropriate look. Any suggestions on books or web sites (preferred) that show pictures or examples of trim ideas? Thanks. John Van