Getting Creative With an Old Home’s Details

When do-it-yourself renovators find the house of their dreams, they almost always mention as one of its strong points, “And it has most of the original woodwork!”

That’s because woodwork is one of the major distinctions between old homes and new ones. However elaborate, roomy and over-fenestrated they are, modern houses tend to have little interior trim.

But even well-preserved older houses generally have missing pieces. And one of the hardest things to do is to match the old finishes.

There are a few ways to approach the problem.

First, you can try to find what you need in another old house or in a salvage yard; some salvagers even specialize in “architectural” objects. Unfortunately, salvagers--and identical houses available for looting--are scarce.

One thing you can do is use old stuff in one part of your house and new stuff in the other parts. Doors, for instance, can be difficult to match because a lot of the old door styles are no longer available. But you might have enough old doors in the house to salvage some from the second floor to complete the set on the first floor. Then you can use similar, if not exactly matching, doors upstairs.

When it comes to molding, some of the old profiles are still available, and others are very close to older styles. You can also get moldings custom-made. And if you live in an area where a lot of renovation is common, there might be lumber yards that specialize in old molding profiles.

One approach is to use stock moldings that are similar, keeping the new and old in different rooms. Some companies simulate old moldings and exterior details in a polystyrene material.

Manufacturers of this type of product include Fypon Molded Millwork, (800) 537-5349; Chemcrest Architectural Products, (800) 665-6653; and Focal Point Architectural Products, (800) 662-5550. For wood details, Cumberland Woodcraft Co., (800) 367-1884, has a selection of interior and exterior railings, brackets, fretwork, moldings and raised panels. Renovators Supply, (800) 659-2211, is a catalog company offering electrical and plumbing fixtures; door, cabinet and bath hardware; pot racks; and vent covers.