Author: edificemedia

“My personal aim is to sustain a close-knit yet diverse intellectual and creative community that excels in design, teaching and research." Dr Christopher Cooper

The Homestead

Living in a home that has been in our family for four generations has been an interesting and challenging experience.

Antiquities: Primitives, Design Essentials

I am a personal admirer of primitives. I am not talking about new items that are just made to look old, rather the items that are very old, very simple and of very high museum quality.

How To Choose Furniture For Your Heritage Home

Restoring the “envelope” of an historic building requires many skills. Not only does the restorer need to know about the various trades, but must also approach them from a historical perspective.

Storm Windows

For decades now window manufacturers have sponsored studies to prove that traditional wooden window systems aren’t energy efficient.

Circa 1842

Stroll up the path, past some barns and a split rail fence, until you see a clapboard house with a cedar roof, a few feet from the shore of Lake Erie.

The Bedroom

It has taken almost one thousand years for bedrooms to evolve into those which we see today.

Traditions

The earliest houses were an example of the direct outgrowth of architecture from function and materials.

Wallpaper Woes

Many people who live in century houses come across, in some cases, dozens of layers of wallpaper on walls and ceilings.

Belleisle Bay NB Beauty

Nestled in the heart of southern New Brunswick, this Belleisle Bay gem got its humble start in the 1950s.

Ceiling Level Annandale

When Tillsonburg Ontario’s first mayor, Edwin Delvan Tillson, decided to build his beautiful retirement home, Annandale, he chose a high-gothic brick villa straight from William M. Woolett’s pattern book “Villas and Cottages; or, Homes for All” published in 1876 at the height of the Eastlake movement started by English furniture designer George Eastlake

Circa 1835 Ireland House

Exceptional for many reasons, Ireland House is a valuable historic structure – an architecturally intact farmstead – which remained in continued use by one family for five generations.

A Wooden Box Latch

You will find all sorts of interesting things when you dismantle an old building.

Ready For Another 200 Years

Somehow the universe guided us to this old house. Vacationing here as children, we never dreamed that one day we would own it.

Crafted In Wood

The woods of the Colchi, in Pontus, [in modern day Turkey] furnish such abundance of timber, that they build in the following manner.

Antiquities At The Cabin Fever Show

This winter has been a rough one, colder than I can remember and just plain long and dull! I guess it is true what they say, when stranded indoors during the winter, cabin fever can set in!

House Spotting Carpenter Gothic

Originally, the Gothic Revival style was meant to be executed in stone and brick imitating the imposing cathedrals of mediaeval Europe.

All About Hand-Wrought Iron

Wrought Iron conjures up many visual interpretations of the Smithy pounding out horse shoes to keep early Canadians on the road.

A Shaker Inspired Kitchen

The true Shaker kitchen was spotless, ready for hungry workers at 5:30 a.m., and doubtless the epitome of efficiency and craftsmanship among other things.

About Shutters

Shutters are one of the most misunderstood elements on heritage homes and have become, to the majority, nothing but a piece of ornamental trim to flank windows and, in some cases, doors.

Learn to repair and restore your brick and stone!

POSTPONED Pay $200.00 now to reserve your space, payment is through a secure PayPal account Pay with Credit Card or Debit Card Contact us for e-transfer details email Sunday May 24th, 2020 One Day Intensive Workshop 10:30 am – 4:00 pm Without a doubt our most popular workshop ever! – This workshop covers all aspects…

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Choosing A Traditional Floor

There are many reasons for replacement of a wooden floor in a traditional home. Small repairs to existing floors may be required due to damage from a leak around a hot water radiator, vents that are no longer in use, or a wall that has been moved.

Painting A Raised Panel Door

Recently we restored an early six-panel wooden door. When it came to painting it, we found the task not as easy as one may think. If you paint across the grain, the finished product looks terrible.

Annapolis Royal Beauty

I never intended to buy it. I went to see the Munro house one day with my friend, Leslie, who told me it had a really nice early staircase and an upstairs ballroom dating from the 1820s, complete with original mouldings.

Repair Your Wood Windows

This workshop will take you through the entire documentation and evaluation process – through to the full repair and restoration process of your original wood windows.

Join the Heritage Maintenance Guild

Do you want more work, or better work? Join the Heritage Maintenance Guild and upgrade your skills with our celebrated professional development courses.

Painted Brick? What to do?

Many times I come across houses that have been painted and many of our subscribers ask what to do with the painted bricks and in some case, how you can remove the paint from the brick?

Repairing Antique Hinges

Many wooden doors that have given faithful service for a century or two suffer from sagging because of screw holes which have become, after literally thousands of sharp shocks with closing and opening, too large for the screws. The whole door binds and sags, making it difficult to shut.

The Queen Anne Revival Style Guide

The Queen Anne Revival house style made its first appearance in North America when the British Government displayed several examples of the style at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.

Help Me! Where Do I Start My RENO!

Over the next three episode I will provide tips on how to start your renovation and what best methods to keep you on track. We have used this planning in all of our project houses and in new/old builds that I act as a deign/builder.

Free Picket Fence Plans

I have created a set of drawings in hopes to inspire the reader to recreate this historic landscape in their own front yard!

New Life for an Abandoned House

On this episode of the Chris Cooper show I will introduce the second of our project houses. A long forgotten farmhouse built in 1837 located in Bright, just 5 minutes west of Cambridge, Ontario.

Victorian Cottage Make Over

This project is a clear example of what almost any amateur couple can do with a little fore sight and discipline. Money is one of the lesser parts of the equation.

Living The Dream

On this episode of the Chris Cooper Show… I will be visiting Carla Emin in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia – Carla is living the proverbial Canadian dream of living in an old house that has been beautifully restored – with a successful business just steps from her back door.

12 Great Visions of Gingerbread – A Lookbook

The true sense of a craftsman is the quality of their work! We look at architectural millwork (a.k.a. gingerbread) and are awestruck at the intricacy and workmanship that went into these pieces of wooden art!

31 Fabulous Nova Scotia Doors & Entries – A Lookbook

Old doors have been given a bad rap (excuse the pun) for a long time! The removal of old doors (not unlike wood windows) can significantly reduce or destroy the character and authenticity of a traditional home. The door is the first thing that greets the owner and visitors alike. The warmth and character of…

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Lovely Stone House in Athens, Ontario for sale

1824 stone home with 8.8 wooded acres, beautifully preserved, central staircase, elegant perennial gardens, writer’s cabin in the woods.                 For more information and sale price for this lovely home visit Historic Homes For Sale.