To a lesser extent, I have reservations about faux old myself. I think, though, that 2009 living, to be authentic, aggregates the past and integrates the present in terms of design. For me, the best way to live in a vintage home in a more authentic way is to use period pieces rather than contemporary reproductions.

I’m curious to know about the plywood above the porch ceiling — was that the underside of a new roof you put on the porch, or did you put that up there as part of the ceiling work?

(The nails stick out like it was put on as a roof, that’s whay I ask…)

Great work — and we’ve been looking at Newburgh ourselves…

How did you prepare your floors before painting? Did they already have any kind of coating on them? Did you sand? What kind of primer did you use?

The BM floor paint is extremely durable (I agree with the paint store guy on that one), so if you’re having trouble with it not drying hard or scratching easily, I would tend to lean toward it being a problem with the preparation.

I just wanted to ask you – how your floors in the office are holding up? I painted the floors in my kitchen, living room and hallway with the same paint from Benjamin Moore (I used Grecian Green, not white), back in April. They look pretty good, but I’m noticing that the paint is susceptible to scratches. I’m afraid to slide anything across the floor, spill anything that could stain it or drop any hard objects that could dent it. I’m wondering if I should’ve put a coat of poly or verathane on it, but the guy at the paint store said it would dry so hard that a dog could walk on it and not scratch it – I highly doubt that!

This turned out just beautifully. Can’t wait to see the rest of the trim and any other fun exterior surprises! As a renter, I can change much of the inside as I’d like to but the outside of our home is off-limits. Very frustrating since it could use a pressure wash and fresh coat of paint.

Regan, yes, the process was fine for us. My only complaint is that the policies are not enforced across the board. I really believe that if a district it going to set regulations, they need to be adhered to by EVERY resident, and that there should be repercussions if the guidelines aren’t followed.

I have mixed feelings about the concept of historical guidelines, though. On one hand, I think it’s important to preserve these pockets of America that are architecturally valuable, but on the other hand, I think it does limit the possibility of seeing really innovative things done in the way of combining very old structures with very new, modernist/forward-thinking additions or modifications (much like you see all over Europe and in parts of NYC). I’m not sure Newburgh is quite ready for that kind of thinking yet, though, so in the mean time…I’m happy to just play by the rules. :)

The porch looks fantastic!