Creating a New Old House Yesterdays Character for Todays Home by Versaci, Russell [Taunton Press,2007] (Paperback) Reprint Edition

by Russell Versaci

Creating a New Old House Yesterdays Character for Todays Home by Versaci, Russell. Published by Taunton Press,2007, Paperback Reprint Edition

Genres: Architecture, Nonfiction, Interior Design, Design, Reference

Unknown Binding

First published September 1, 2003

Reviews

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

The photos are lovely and the floor plans informative, but I was disappointed that the book didn't offer any specific details on technique (not as a technical manual, mind you, but more specific than "we painted the trim") or any profiles of smaller homes. Nothing in this book has more than 3 bedrooms, yet most are 3000+ sq ft. And to repeat many others' concerns, it's terribly wasteful to spend so much on top of the line materials and then cover them in acids or mold to replicate an aged effect -- give it a few years to settle and abuse the environment a tiny bit less! But I suppose if you are building a 3500 sq ft home, from scratch, using old-growth wood, for a family of three, that's probably not your highest concern.

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A dream house on every page. Really impressive residential architecture in this book. Very inspiring. Next up: Figure out how to make a million dollars so we could build a new old house like one of these.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Practically a book about my dream house(s)! Great as a coffee table book, the photos are just gorgeous if you enjoy looking at homes. Each chapter is about a different building style, with explanations, identifying details, historic photos, floor plans, everything I wanted in this style of book.

[Christopher Hardisty · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great photos, but not a lot of useful information that I think I could apply.

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the look of most of these houses. I especially the idea of creating a new house to look as though it belongs in the area, similar to those already there, and not the hideous glass-and-steel modern look. As several others, I don't get the idea of mistreating the materials to create an age-old look. Turn things over to small children or teenagers, and you'll get your aged look without chemicals. Not to mention, let time and weather do the work naturally.
Not much I could use. I definitely don't have the money required to get the authentic style these have. I certainly don't have the time, money or energy required to find all the items used to get this appearance.
I could live in most of these, but I couldn't afford to.

[JJ | Casa de Jules · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love classical architecture and found Mr. Versaci to be an expert in this field. I dream of implementing the principles shared with my own future house projects.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the concept of adding the old craftsmanship to newer homes.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Creating a New Old House: Yesterday’s Character for Today’s Home (pp. 224)

Much of today’s new construction lacks character. It’s boxy and repetitive and takes a lot of work to create a lived in quality. On the surface, this book looked promising: great reference photos, floor plans, detail call outs. The reality is the book is just a collection of general case studies and a cursory overview of classic architectural styles that appear in the U.S.

It’s helpful to have side-by-side descriptions of architectural styles to understand what makes them different, but the examples used are for homes that only the upper most tax brackets could afford. And many of the homes aren’t useable layouts for a family. After so many pages, the homes start becoming very large art projects instead of homes.

I got something out of the book, but not what I was looking for. Otherwise, it’s a very pretty coffee table book that won’t ever get read.

[Dayna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those books that I have picked up and flipped through from time to time, but never really read. Until a couple of months ago. The text wasn't as detailed as I thought it would be, considering the photos are so inspiring. I love old houses, and have often thought about how fun it would be to build a new house to look old. I thought that Versaci did a reasonable job describing how that can be done ... but he doesn't relate how expensive it could be (for the purist anyway) and it's not a detailed resource of old fashioned building techniques (for the purist anyway). Beyond that, the photos are amazing and some of the houses are truly inspiring. It's a great springboard for new old house design.

[Motorcycle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really like the look of the houses featured in the book. I like the care that goes into making them quality. People don't build houses like them anymore. Instead they build ridiculous houses who's primary purpose is to display wealth, but are in fact of very poor quality. However, I disagreed with one of the things the author's design principals: to create the patina of age. That seemed silly to me. Pre-stressing material seems like a frivolous aftectation. I think a house should be built to last. Why weaken your materials before you use them. For design of course, but it seems duplicitous.

[Kim Shults · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took a couple of good tips away. One was to use tung oil to finish exposed ceiling beams for a warm, finished look. I figure if I take one good thing away from any book and actually put into use in my own home, then it was a great book to read. This was.

[Rhode PVD · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely pictures. Wish floor plans had included more than just the first floor. A few useful tips such as put up drywall after the molding instead of before to make it feel more like an old plastered wall. Was disappointed he did not include a colonial home, but loved the examples he did pick.

[Aimee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it, but I thought there could be more information on to what makes the style of a certain time period.

[Callista · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the idea of this book and the photos were gorgeous, but overall, the houses were too big and elaborate for my taste. Too fancy!