Hello, all. My name is Elaine Vitone, and I’m the winner of last month’s blogger contest. Very first, I’d like to express my gratitude to everyone who voted for me. Thanks to you, I was offered a contributing-writer gig for OHW, which I was thrilled to accept. Really looking forward to getting to know my fellow old-home enthusiasts a little better here on the Old House Blog. Better Half and I live ...

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In my career as a contractor I've tried to live by a few mottos, one of them being "leave it better than I find it." I can proudly report I've mostly lived up to that challenge. I can also report (not proudly) that many contractors I've worked with (or hired as subs on my projects) don't exactly see it the same way I do. That's why, when I do find ...

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One of the trickiest projects in old houses weaving modern kitchens into old spaces. Even as little as a half century-ago people had cast iron coal and wood-fired stoves for heating and cooking. Indeed, I've heard the story from many people who shut parts of their houses down in winter to maximize the heat from these heat sources. Indeed, in my own home, while prepping for our new kitchen I ...

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