Louise Corderman's (historicinterior) Blog

A Famous Ghost Story As many of you who follow my musings know, I am from a small town in West Virginia.  Shepherdstown has been my family's home for years, ever since I was ten.  We moved there when our little house in "Clippe" (a small village also in Jefferson County) burned and my parents de...

I was recently struck by the thought that the majority of the artisans listed on my website thehistoricinterior.com are practicing a "green" industry.The commercials and ads that are in the media about "natural" and "organic" evoke the principles and properties of a past world when the main ener...

If you love Craftsman style… Loving Craftsman design? Then you are drawn to warm colors that areinspired by nature and beautiful woodwork, built in cabinets and handmadetextiles and tiles. The lines of the woodwork whether furniture ormillwork is made of simple lines with exposed joints and often...

It is important to remember in these economic times that when faced with the sometimes overwhelming job of the restoration of your home you do not become dispirited with the project. The hiring of specialists and contractors is the most important aspect of the process, for even with the best rese...

Schuyler Mansion What is it that makes a historic property speak to you, make you put all reason aside and see the beauty beneath the usually horrible add-ons that have followed the house like a very bad haircut. With time and the right expert you can overcome it. Those of us who deal with histor...

  When I was a little girl, my mother took me to our local small museum which was in the basement of the local library.  We walked down the aisles filled with the odd assortment of objets and memorabilia that are often displayed in such museums. We stopped in front of a large case, that had a wo...

Recently I went with my sister over to our old town to see a piece of property that had just come on the market. It seems that she had fallen "in love" with the house 30 years ago and like any unrequited lover had pined for it from afar, tucking her longing for it away until one day she literally...

You have finally settled on the home of your dreams.  You knew from the moment you walked into the front parlor that you had to buy it.  After weeks of stress you finally walk into the home.  The walls are bare, the furniture is gone, and all of a sudden you realize what a leap you just made.  W...

  A   Colonial Christmas   In the 18th Century the colonists in America celebrated the Christmas season according to where they lived.  In the northern colonies the revelry was more somber and  centered around the church whereas the southernmost colonies were much more  festive as they observed t...

  A Victorian Christmas                   In the beginning of the American traditions of the Victorian period the North and South definitely were split on the issue of Christmas. A great many in the North believed that celebrating Xmas was a sin, and that the holiday was more of a somber spiritua...