Collection by Heather Corcoran

These Old Houses: 5 Renovations That Blend Old and New

Whether midcentury modern, Victorian, or something even older, these clever renovations hold on to their historic bones.

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.
The new kitchen borrowed space and light from the original courtyard. The spirit of the courtyard remains with the buffer between the kitchen and the exterior wall. The cabinets are from Ikea, the countertops are quartzite, and the grill top is from Bertazzoni.
The new kitchen borrowed space and light from the original courtyard. The spirit of the courtyard remains with the buffer between the kitchen and the exterior wall. The cabinets are from Ikea, the countertops are quartzite, and the grill top is from Bertazzoni.
Layer by layer, a crumbling 18th-century flat in the middle of Barcelona finds new life at the hands of architect Benedetta Tagliabue. Photo by Gunnar Knechtel.
Layer by layer, a crumbling 18th-century flat in the middle of Barcelona finds new life at the hands of architect Benedetta Tagliabue. Photo by Gunnar Knechtel.