Pretty Old House: Breathing new life into a home

By Wendy Binns
Publisher
A crystal chandelier scored on Craigslist lights up the master bath. Two built-in corner cabinets are reconfigured to artfully flank the dining room. And tin salvaged from the roof of the old garage now handsomely covers substantial awnings in the back of the house. Saving old features and turning them into new functions for a home is an art local real estate agent Patti Hinkle and her husband, Steve, have refined over the years.
Patti and Steve lived in this Morningside home during the three-year renovation and now have the 5-bedroom, 3.5 bath property listed for sale. They plan to move on to their next project, but first we asked Patti a few questions about this latest.
Sum it up for us, Patti ­– what is it about pretty old houses that you love and how many have you renovated?
We’ve renovated and sold three pretty old houses from Garden Hills to East Lake and, just this spring, one in Kirkwood.  Before that, we renovated five houses in the suburbs. Pretty old houses have their own personality – they’re quirky. They have soul.
What original features were you most eager to keep?
The doors!  Steve wanted this house because of the doors. They’re thicker than most old doors and have the best trim and, of course, wonderful crystal knobs and brass escutcheons. We reused all the original doors. We even moved the swinging door from the old kitchen as the laundry room door. And, I love the old hardwood floors. The grain of the wood is so tight and the boards are usually really long. I also really like plaster walls. A lot of renovators strip a house down to the studs, which I think is for the convenience of the electrician and the plumber. Plasterwork is a dying craft and we need to preserve as much of it as we can. In this house we also worked hard to keep the moldings and had Randall Brothers mill a few new pieces so it would all match.
The house has a nice flow for parties and plenty of room for everyday living. How did you accomplish that?
The architect, Adam Wall of Kronberg Wall, started with a drawing of the existing floor plan. When we looked at it, ideas for opening up the house just started spilling out. One really big idea I had was to move the dining room door to create a “line of sight” that goes all the way from the big double windows in the living room to the new windows in the kitchen.
You look pretty settled into this house. Do you sit back on your back patio and have second thoughts about selling this labor of love?
Yes, sometimes, but this house is too big for the two of us –it has five bedrooms for crying out loud. Right now, I sit out there and dream about the next one.
Notes on Paint Colors
“I have to tell you we rarely come up with new and different colors on our own,” says Patti. “Most times we reuse colors from other homes we’ve done or try out ones we’ve seen in model homes.  Sometimes, as in the interior here, we go with colors from magazines.”

Interior Walls & Trim: Creamy from Benjamin Moore.
We like the tone on tone look of using the same color but in different finishes—flat for the walls with semi gloss or high gloss trim and doors.
Master Bedroom: Herbivore from Sherwin Williams. Herbivore is such a restful serene color …
Downstairs Hall Bath, Upstairs Jack & Jill Bath: Rainwashed from Benjamin Moore. This is one of the best turquoise/blue colors I’ve found. … Rainwashed is also in the laundry. Isn’t that fitting ­– “rain-washed?
Exterior: Relaxed Khaki and Superior Bronze from Sherwin Williams.
“We like to stick with a few colors through the house,” explains Patti. “I think it makes the rooms flow together a little better than using too many colors. And, too, I’ve tried to find a color scheme and stick with it. It’s hard for me to carry a decorating style throughout a whole house – I get distracted by all the new trends and lose sight of my ‘big plan.’”

To follow Patti’s blog, visit prettyoldhouses.com.