Get tickets to Dwell Open House: Los Angeles
SubscribeSign In
j
Collection by Jacqueline Leahy

Modern Renovations of Period Homes

Some of our favorite renovation stories involve recasting period architecture into modern residences, and these seven projects give historic structures a new history to call their own.

View 7 Photos
Architect Gregory Phillips retained the old-world charm of original features like the black-and-white floor tiles (seen here in the entryway) and views of the garden from the front door. Photo by Richard Powers.
Architect Gregory Phillips retained the old-world charm of original features like the black-and-white floor tiles (seen here in the entryway) and views of the garden from the front door. Photo by Richard Powers.
A carpet of custom tile created by Navone punctuates a corridor on the first floor.
A carpet of custom tile created by Navone punctuates a corridor on the first floor.
Oakland, California, doesn’t want for stately old Victorian houses, but heritage and zoning regulations often make them tough to renovate, particularly if you have an aesthetic depar-ture in mind. By raising the house, Mike McDonald was able to preserve the façade and create a modern new office space below.
Oakland, California, doesn’t want for stately old Victorian houses, but heritage and zoning regulations often make them tough to renovate, particularly if you have an aesthetic depar-ture in mind. By raising the house, Mike McDonald was able to preserve the façade and create a modern new office space below.
“I know not whether it is owing to the tendernesses of early associations, but this part of New York appears to many persons the most delectable,” wrote Henry James in Washington Square.
“I know not whether it is owing to the tendernesses of early associations, but this part of New York appears to many persons the most delectable,” wrote Henry James in Washington Square.
The undulating white-cedar door is a replica of one Santiago admired at a sushi bar in Japan.
The undulating white-cedar door is a replica of one Santiago admired at a sushi bar in Japan.
Located in Steenokkerzeel, Belgium, a city northeast of Brussels, this water tower built in 1941 sits on a small lot measuring 52.5 feet by 65.6 feet. The Nazis used it during World War II as a watchtower and then it was a functioning water tower until the 1990s. In 2005 the “Chateau d'eau from Steenokerzeel,” as it’s known, became a protected landmark.
Located in Steenokkerzeel, Belgium, a city northeast of Brussels, this water tower built in 1941 sits on a small lot measuring 52.5 feet by 65.6 feet. The Nazis used it during World War II as a watchtower and then it was a functioning water tower until the 1990s. In 2005 the “Chateau d'eau from Steenokerzeel,” as it’s known, became a protected landmark.